


Love Again

by cellahateswinters



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ
Genre: Alpha Jung Yunho, Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, Arranged Marriage, Bottom Shim Changmin, Knotting, M/M, Modern Royalty, Mpreg, Omega Shim Changmin, Top Jung Yunho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2019-10-13 01:22:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 140,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17478614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cellahateswinters/pseuds/cellahateswinters
Summary: After a series of heartbreaks, successful entrepreneur, Jung Yunho decides to pursue an arranged marriage, looking to gain a royal title to benefit his business ambitions. He meets the Duke's son, an ethereally beautiful Omega, Shim Changmin. However, the Omega's condescending and rude behavior puts him off. Changmin doesn't seem even remotely interested in Yunho, either. So, the dislike is pretty mutual.Unfortunately, fate keeps throwing them in together. Eventually, they will learn that first impressions aren't always accurate and sometimes love strikes when you least expect it.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Will try to update it every Saturday. I know that the trope and dynamics isn't a popular one in the fandom so I appreciate everyone who is reading this work. Homin are just so arghhh...., they deserve all the fics!

 

Yunho discreetly fiddled with his cuffs for the umpteenth time, this evening. Business gatherings were easy to deal with but parties like these were the bane of his existence. A gathering of modern royalties was a difficult terrain to navigate. Surely in current times, a title didn’t mean an abundance of wealth but they still had some influence and immense pride.

 

Someone like Yunho, who was a self made business tycoon, was not particularly regarded highly by the modern royalties because at the core of it, he did have a middle class upbringing. He was here to choose a suitable partner he could marry which would get him a title and open up more doors for him in his business. It would be mutually beneficial for the royal family he would marry into as they would have access to his abundant wealth.

 

It is a shame that all of his romantic notions regarding marriage and companionship had been smashed over the years. Building a company from the ground up, took a lot of time and effort, which left him with almost no personal time. But he still managed to fall in love a couple of times but both of the times he had been jilted with the reason that he was workaholic. Both the times, it had been painful and he had started using work as a coping mechanism. He had been told by his family and close friends that he was too passionate and hence never took any middle ground. It is a quality that continued to serve him well in his career but made him vulnerable in his love life. He falls in love easily and loses the control of his relationship and ends up getting hurt the most.

 

After a lot of contemplation, he had decided to pursue an arranged marriage with benefits for both sides so there would be clear expectations established between them. However, this was the first time ever he attended a gathering with the intention of securing a spouse. Fortunately, a lot of royals approached him first and asked him to take them to the dance floor. Looked like money could get him anywhere.

 

“It’s your face”, his friend Siwon had remarked when Yunho had just come off the dance floor after concluding his dance with the Marquess’ daughter Lady Go Ara. Yunho rolled his eyes at Siwon’s statement. “Of course, it helps that you are rich but so are others in here. Clearly, they are flocking to you for another reason”, remarked Siwon as he noticed the Earl’s daughter slowly make her way towards them.

 

Yunho snapped out of his thoughts as he noticed Duke Shim slowly making his way towards him. Yunho met him halfway and bowed respectfully. The elderly man had already talked to him earlier so Yunho was a bit confused why he was engaging him again.

 

“I see your dance card is quite full, tonight”, the Duke remarked. “Not at all. Everyone has been just so welcoming”, replied Yunho modestly. “Have you been introduced to my son”, asked the Duke and waved towards someone, Yunho deduced it would be his son, to join them. Yunho looked in that direction spotting, the son, Shim Changmin, walking towards them like he would rather be anywhere else.

 

“No, I can’t say I have been”, replied Yunho politely even though he couldn’t prevent his jaw from tightening faced with Changmin’s condescending gaze.

“He is a little shy”, supplied the Duke as he put his arm around his son.

“Changmin, this is Jung Yunho, one of the most hardworking and prosperous businessman of the younger generation”, said the Duke, gesturing towards Yunho. Yunho laughed, a bit embarrassed at the Duke’s high praise.

“You are very kind, sir”, said Yunho politely bowing to the Duke, once again.

“This is my son, Changmin”, said the Duke. Yunho turned his focus on Changmin to at least make an eye contact as a polite greeting but the other had his eyes planted firmly on the ground as he bowed a little to greet Yunho.

Yunho kept his eyes firmly trained on Changmin, waiting for him to look at him, but Changmin never did. Yunho tried to rein in his irritation at Changmin’s behavior. Even though the Duke was being very accommodating and welcoming, his son clearly looked down on him, not even good enough for a simple conversation.

“Changmin, why don’t you ask Yunho for a spin on the dance floor? And, he is a graceful dancer, as far as what everyone’s been saying the whole evening”, encouraged the Duke, patting Changmin on his back. Changmin grimaced like he had been asked to donate his kidney instead. Before Yunho could say something to dissolve the awkwardness, the Duke excused himself to greet someone else.

Yunho looked towards Changmin and could literally see him perfecting his bitch face. Yunho rolled his eyes in response. Yunho had observed the Omega throughout the evening. How could he not, Changmin was easily the most stunning person he had ever come across, there was nothing about him that was unattractive to Yunho, from his big round eyes, his beautiful neck, his mile-long legs, his obscene lips and even his big ears which he tried to bury under silken wavy hair.

What completely put him off was Changmin’s behavior. He looked at everyone like they were scraps of gum stuck to the bottom of his expensive shoes. He had just stood at a corner with his champagne flute, his occasional sighing followed by condescending looks. He had even dismissed Siwon, who was kind and brave enough to ask Changmin for a dance enduring Changmin’s cold stare which made everyone give him a wide berth this evening. Siwon was an Earl and if Changmin looked down on him surely someone like Yunho was just considered as trailer trash.

Yunho had his pride, he would cut his arm before even consider asking Changmin for a dance, no matter how beautiful the Omega was.

“You can cool it. Not gonna drag you to the dance floor”, said Yunho in an clipped tone. Changmin seemed surprised by his response but quickly slipped on the mask of indifference.

“How very kind of you”, replied Changmin, his voice dripping with sarcasm, finally looking into Yunho’s eyes.

“Almost as kind as you are” shot back the mildly amused Alpha.

Changmin smirked and said,“And you know all about me, don’t you”.

Changmin’s eyes were a thing of beauty, round, big and so fiesty. They were goading Yunho to do something completely crazy like kiss Changmin in front of the whole room.

“Not completely but can take a guess”, said Yunho channeling his anger.

Changmin folded his hands, raised one his eyebrows daring Yunho to continue.

“Privileged, spoiled, rude and condescending”, said Yunho, taking a step closer towards Changmin, with every adjective. They were standing too close, neither of them backing down.

“Nailed it. I am impressed”, said Changmin nonchalantly, breaking the silence and turning away from Yunho.

“I am not finished, yet”, said Yunho to stop Changmin in his tracks. Yunho slowly inched forward and brought his lips close to Changmin’ ears and whispered,

“Pretty and stubborn but somehow your father has you by your leash. Sorry, credit card”

Any lesser Alpha couldn’t have resisted taking a whiff of Changmin’s scent so close to his tempting neck. However Yunho wasn’t the average Alpha and immediately pulled back to look at Changmin.

He looked pissed, seemed like he was biting his tongue to stop himself from lashing out at Yunho. Soon he regained his composure and slightly bowed to Yunho as he said,

“Well, it was great meeting you. I hope I never get the honor again”

“Same here”, replied Yunho but Changmin had already started walking away from him.

“Elsa freeze you out too”, asked Siwon putting a hand on his shoulder in consolation.

“Shocker”, replied Yunho rolling his eyes.

 

* * *

 

 

Changmin increased his speed as he jogged through the familiar route. The burn in thighs, the ever increasing heartbeat and the feel of the evening’s cool air on his face were clearing his head. It made him forget about the mess his life had lately become.

 

His father had been disappointed in him since he had refused to join family business and chosen literature as his major. Even years after that, when Changmin had already established himself as a professional writer and moved out to an apartment of his own, his father still kept berating him and even blaming him for every failed business venture.

 

The latest failure was an airline venture which ended up with a lot of disgruntled employees, customers and huge debts for the Shim Family. It was the final nail in the coffin which drove his father to pressure him into marrying a rich guy so they didn’t end up on the streets. Before he knew he was dragged into every party and introduced to all single rich businessmen / businesswomen or royalties. Even though he had no say in it, he had promised himself that he would never end up marrying for money or gain.

 

The whole route of his thought led him to remembering the rude Alpha from last night. A certain Jung Yunho, extremely judgemental and prejudiced against the royalties even though he was looking to marry one. “Fucking Hypocrite”, gritted out Changmin as he broke into a run for the last leg of his jog.

 

Suddenly the song in his ears got cut off by the dull ringtone. Irritated, Changmin slowed down to a jog and turned his arm to look at the name of the caller. It read ‘Kyu-honey’, Kyuhyun’s idea, too cheesy and tacky to be his own. He sighed and accepted the call. “‘sup”, he greeted.

“Where are you, now”, asked Kyuhyun solemn voice.

Changmin immediately knew that something was wrong when Kyuhyun didn’t throw in a sarcastic remark in lieu of greeting. “Just out, jogging. Something wrong? ”, asked Changmin slowing down to a walk.

“Can you come over? We need to talk”

 

* * *

 

 

“A Royal Romance in the Air”, heard Yunho before Heechul pushed his ipad towards his face. Yunho calmly plucked it from his hands and looked at the picture of him and Lady Go Ara smiling at each other while waltzing.

“Trust you to pick out the famous and prettiest one to marry”, said Heechul while slapping his back.

“Look at you two. It looks like a scene straight out of all the romance dramas that Go Ara stars in”, cooed Heechul pulling Yunho’s cheek.

Yunho batted his hands away and defended, “I danced with others as well. Apparently, those weren’t news worthy”. He scrolled through the images in the gallery.

“‘course they aren’t. People don’t recognize those other royalties. Go Ara is the nation’s favorite bachelorette, especially after her last drama”, scoffed Heechul.

“Hyung, are you a fan or something”, asked Yunho dryly, trying to see if the media caught him and Changmin glaring daggers at each other.

“Oh please! By my standards, she’s just average. I mean look at my face, she pales in comparison”, replied Heechul condescendingly.

 

Yunho almost scrolled past Siwon’s picture when he noticed them at the back. It’s not noticeable if you aren’t looking for it. Yunho zoomed in to look at it clearly. It captured the moment when Yunho had whispered those harsh words into Changmin’s ears. Both of them had a good poker face so this picture didn’t depict the animosity instead it looked a bit suggestive.

 

Suddenly, the ipad was snatched from Yunho’s hands.

“Oooohhh what do we have here! You playboy, Jung Yunho”, exclaimed Heechul looking at his and Changmin’s picture.

“It’s totally not what it looks like”, defended Yunho springing out of his chair.

“So, you are not suggesting a quickie in the bathroom to Mr. Pornstar lips over here”, teased Heechul waving the picture to Yunho.

“He’s the Duke’s son. We sort of had a disagreement”, said Yunho shaking his head and returned to his seat.

“Was the disagreement over the fact that he is taller than you”, scoffed Heechul roving his eyes over Changmin’s profile.

“Hardly! He is a rude and condescending brat”, shot Yunho back vehemently.

“With a face like his, I think he has earned the right”, remarked Heechul dryly.

“Face isn’t everything”, said Yunho pulling out a document on his desk to review.

“Still doesn’t explain why you were zooming in on his picture”, remarked Heechul coolly scrolling through the rest of the pictures.

“Just wanted to make sure people didn’t think that I was making enemies”, replied Yunho casually flipping through the document.

“If you guys looked anything like that I don’t think you have to worry about it at all”, teased Heechul before moving on to cooing about Yunho and Go Ara becoming the nation’s power couple.

Yunho rolled his eyes at his long time friend and legal advisor as he continued wrapping up his work for the day.

 

* * *

 

 

Changmin kept walking dazed towards wherever his feet led him. He had just returned from meeting his boyfriend , no, ex-boyfriend, Kyuhyun.

 

_“My parents are going to lose their house. They didn’t even plan to tell me, I accidentally found out”, said Kyuhyun pacing around._

_“Can I help”, offered Changmin quietly._

_“Oh no! You have your own problems. I can’t possibly take money from you”, said Kyuhyun vehemently._

_“Look, I haven’t declared bankruptcy or anything. I have some personal savings that I can lend”, supplied Changmin helpfully._

_“It’s not just the house. There are debtors looking for him. He got into this real estate business with a friend and he fled away with most of the earnings and showed people fake listings. It’s just BAD”, said Kyuhyun as he collapsed into the couch beside Changmin, burying his head in his hands._

_Changmin slowly raised his hands and gently massaged Kyuhyun’s shoulders._

_“I’ve decided”, said Kyuhyun in a solemn voice. Changmin paused his ministrations in response._

_“I am going to accept one of the marriage proposals”, said Kyuhyun as he looked up at Changmin._

_Kyuhyun was a rising Hallyu star, while he wasn’t rolling in money, he still had his fair share of admirers. Some rich ones, who even sent him marriage proposals. He would usually laugh them off because there was no way Kyuhyun was ever gonna take them seriously._

_And, what was Changmin supposed to reply to that? Don’t do it, because we promised that we would be with each other among all odds ? How could you just abandon me ? Does this mean that I have to lose my best friend too? Would you care about this sad rich boy after you get married ?_

_No, those were extremely selfish thoughts. He would always be a friend first so he went with the most worrying thought in his head, “Do you think that’s safe”_

_Kyuhyun looked a little disappointed like he had expected some fight from Changmin._

_“They are not all crazies. Some are well-known elitists”, replied Kyuhyun in a defeated voice._

_“I am sorry”, said Changmin looking up trying to pull his tears back._

_Kyuhyun held Changmin’s hands and said, “It’s all my fault, anyway. I am the one who pushed you trust me and get into a relationship when you were content being alone. And now, I am the one...”_

_Changmin immediately came to his defense, “You didn’t push me into anything. I wouldn’t have agreed if I didn’t want to. You know me”_

_Kyuhyun took a deep breath trying not to cry while squeezing Changmin’s hands. Changmin nodded his head in a gesture saying that everything was going to work out._

_Kyuhyun hugged him tightly and whispered softly into his ears,_

_“I never thought it would come to this”_

_Changmin just felt numb as he held onto his now, ex-boyfriend._

 

Before he realized, he had somehow reached the Han river. He slowly made his way towards the steps and sat down near a secluded corner. He didn’t know how to react. Everything had been so abrupt. He had a boyfriend in his best friend and suddenly he lost both.

 

He wanted to feel angry, because he was dumped. All those times he stood up to his father pressuring him into marry a richer guy, going to those gatherings and fending off every possible suitor, trying to be positive that he wasn’t being selfish for wanting to have his own say in his marriage, those were all taunting him because Kyuhyun was ten times the person he was and chose his filial duties over him.

 

He felt ashamed of himself for blaming Kyuhyun. He felt lost because he had no idea why he couldn’t stop his tears when he logically understood everything that went down between him and Kyuhyun.

 

Suddenly, he felt faint rain drops on his hands. And in a few moments they became steadier. People around him started clearing out as it started to pour in earnest. Changmin just slumped and accepted his fate.

 

Changmin had directly jogged to Kyuhyuns’ place as he didn’t want to waste time jogging back home, changing clothes, and then getting into a car. Well, after the complete shocker, Changmin had just mindlessly wandered and somehow reached Han. Now, his thigh muscles were all locked up, his feet hurt, he couldn’t get up and go find a shelter. So, he just sat there letting his tears fall freely in the rain like some lead in a drama. It couldn’t get any worse for him anyway.

 

“Excuse Me”, he heard. Changmin turned towards the voice and saw a confused Jung Yunho standing. He immediately turned his head away and once again accepted his fate. He fucking figured, when he didn’t think it could get any worse, it did. Who better than the judgemental dick to find him at his lowest.

 

“Changmin”, he heard the Alpha’s surprised voice. He chose not to reply and hoped that the Alpha would go on his merry way.

“What are you doing sitting here alone in the rain”

Looked like ignoring the Alpha wouldn’t work, sarcastic comment, it would have to be then.

“Oh nothing, just moping over my first-world problems”, replied Changmin rolling his eyes.

“Could you at least move under a shade”, insisted Yunho in an irritated tone

“What are you, my mother”, Changmin scoffed at Yunho.

“Well, if you insist on behaving like a tween”, shot back Yunho agitated.

 

All of Changmin’s frustrations boiled up and he let it all out on his convenient target.

 

“Could you just leave me alone? Go and lecture someone else. I am sure everyone is waiting with bated breath for the great Jung Yunho to come and patronize them”

Yunho looked pissed as he tried to stare Changmin down. This only angered Changmin more as he met his stare with a glare of his own.

After a while, Yunho tsked and said, “Fine”

Changmin looked away from Yunho, waiting for him to leave but all he heard was scuffling.

Something landed on Changmin, he immediately threw a dirty look at Yunho in return.

“Wear this and I will leave you alone”, said Yunho folding his arms.

Changmin inspected the ‘thing’ Yunho had thrown at him, it was a transparent raincoat. Of course, Jung Yunho would try to be the chivalrous hero from a Mills and Boons romance novel even with people he could barely tolerate.

Changmin hissed,“Let me tell you when you can shove your chivalry and raincoat”

“Do you not want me to leave”, cut in Yunho while pulling the hood of his jacket on his head to shield himself from the rain nonchalantly.

Yunho being unfazed by his anger pissed him off even more.

“Are you always this annoying”, spat out Changmin

“Are you always that stubborn”, shot back Yunho with a judgemental look still standing his ground.

“Ahh... can’t deal with you right now” growled Changmin and decided that he had to concede because he really didn’t want to end up kicking Yunho in his balls.

He stood up begrudgingly and started slipping the raincoat on, muttering constant insults under his breath.

After he had finished buttoning it up, he turned to throw a fuck you to Yunho but he was nowhere to be seen. Well, good, he wasn’t getting wet anymore and didn’t have to deal with Yunho either.

His phone’s familiar ringtone broke the silence. Changmin hesitated a bit before looking at the caller. He dearly wished it wasn’t Kyuhyun. He saw ‘Dad’ flash and immediately picked it up.

 

“Dad”, he asked a little tense.

“Changmin-ah, where are you”, asked his father in an urgent tone.

“Out”, he replied vaguely pulling the raincoat a little closer as a nervous gesture.

“Come home, I have something important to discuss with you. It’s about your mother”, said his father curtly.

At the mention his mother, warning bells started going off in his head

“Is she alright”, he asked worried

“Yes, for now. I can’t have this conversation over the phone, come home as soon as you can”, said his father before he hung up on him.

“Fuck”, he exclaimed standing up and weighing his options to get him over to his parent’s house quickly. He immediately thought of taking an Uber but a quick glance at his phone showed that he only had 10 percent charge left.

“Fuck fuck fuck”, he growled as he buried his face in his hands. Seemed like he would have to swallow his pride one more time, tonight.

 

* * *

 

 

Yunho was stuffing himself with fish cakes in anger. Why did the Omega have to be so stupid and stubborn? Sitting there alone in the rain was akin to dangling a fresh piece of meat to all those sketchy Alphas and Betas lurking in an area like that.

Thankfully, he had coaxed Changmin into wearing his raincoat, that would save him from the rain and most importantly since it was covered his own Alpha scent, it would keep other Alphas and Betas at bay. Yunho hoped that Changmin had the common sense to head home after he had left.

Yunho checked his watch, it must have been over 5 minutes since he left Changmin near the steps. He should really check in, if the Omega was ok. He was about to head back when a delicious scent wafted in. It was a heady mix of cherry blossoms and wine. The one that had incidentally drawn him to check on the Omega sitting alone in the rain in the first place, only to realise that it was Shim Changmin. He must have been sweating a lot for Yunho to catch his scent from a distance even in the rain whereas the Omega had clearly masked it when they met for the first time at the party.

Now, it was layered with his own scent and somehow it made his blood pump a little faster , making him feel restless.

“Yunho-ssi”, he heard in a gentle, coaxing voice before turning to look at Shim Changmin, doing his best ‘bambi’ impression.

Yunho was so baffled seeing the spit-fire Omega all dewy-eyed and pursed lips that he could just nod in response.

“I was wondering if you could help me get home”, asked Changmin a little nervous.

Yunho’s first instinct was to nod but his curiosity got in the way,

“Did your car break down”

Changmin gritted his teeth and folded his hands as if bracing himself before launching into the explanation

“No, I kind of walked here and didn’t expect the rain”

Yunho was amused, he definitely did not expect that. His royal highness making a long trip on his pampered feet.

“Really, now”, smirked Yunho.

Changmin narrowed his eyes in response and shot back, “What’s with that judgemental tone”

Clearly, the ‘bambi’ act wasn’t going to last long.

“It was more amusing than judgemental”, replied Yunho, his smirk growing wider.

“Of course, my problems are amusing to you”, retorted Changmin rolling his eyes. It would have been effective but it was really difficult to take someone wearing a raincoat seriously.

Yunho tried to smother his laughter at Changmin trying to look feisty in a poncho.

“What”, asked Changmin irritated.

“You look like a kitten just rescued from the rain and absolutely grumpy about being wet”, said Yunho and let a badly muffled laugh.

“Excuse you! Who do you think you are? Brad Pitt?”, spat back Changmin in anger.

“I would like to think I am a bit better”, teased Yunho.

“Wow! Your modesty knows no bounds”, remarked Changmin, appalled at Yunho’s brazenness.

“It has been said about me”, smirked Yunho as he bit into another fish-cake.

Changmin couldn’t possibly hate Yunho more than he did at that precise moment. Changmin was dying of hunger (emotional walking could do that to a person) and here was Jung Yunho stuffing those heavenly fish cakes and not even offering one to him. Apparently his chivalry only extended to handing out raincoats.

“Well, can this modest-ass man get me home”, said Changmin getting snarky.

“You know usually, people asking for help tend to be nicer”, shot back Yunho nonchalantly.

“Believe me, this is the nicest I have been with anyone”, replied Changmin barely masking his irritation.

“I am touched”, said Yunho rolling his eyes.

Changmin sighed and looked at his phone, noting the charge had now gone to 8 percent. Without his wallet, there was no way of getting a taxi.

“Well, there’s no helping it”, he heard Yunho sighing.

Suddenly, four fish cake skewers were thrust at him.

“Hold these while I bring around your royal ride”, said Yunho pushing the skewers into Changmin’s hands and rushing out in the rain.

It infuriated Changmin how prejudiced Yunho was regarding the royals. He never missed a beat to throw in a condescending remark about Changmin being privileged. It was totally uncalled for especially when Changmin had never even commented about Yunho’s wealth or position. Clearly the guy had issues, possibly stemming from his own insecurity of hailing from a middle class background but Changmin didn’t want to dissect it any further.

He settled for finishing all of the skewers instead, letting Jung Yunho know that he couldn’t just get away so easily after being rude to him.

After finishing all of them, he proceeded to chuck away the now bare sticks when he noticed Yunho slowly coming towards him on a motor-bike, no less, in the rain.

“Are you fucking with me, right now”, exclaimed Changmin as Yunho stopped near him with a triumphant grin.

“Ohh... his highness got a dirty mouth on him”, teased Yunho grinning like a cheshire cat.

Jung Yunho was unbelievable!

“Motorbike? Why don’t you use a car like normal people do”, spat out Changmin with incredulity in his voice.

Yunho shot back immediately, “Like you can judge me, Mr.I-walked-to-Han-River-just-for-kicks”

“But, it’s raining. Have you failed to notice that”, exclaimed Changmin in anger.

“Well, it’s the only ride I got. So either hop on or wait for Queen of England to pick you up. I bet she’s got a ride that would be worthy”, said Yunho in an unkind tone.

For a moment, Changmin contemplated if walking back home in the rain was that bad of an option. He wasn’t sure if he could take any more of Yunho’s toxicity.

“Did you finish my skewers”, asked Yunho breaking Changmin out of his thought. The Alpha was pouting looking at the bare sticks.

Good, served him right, thought Changmin

“Don’t be so petty”, said Changmin as he started unbuttoning his raincoat.

“What are you doing”, asked Yunho halting Changmin.

“Well, you will be driving in the rain so you need the raincoat”, answered Changmin raising his eyebrow.

“Keep it on. I am wearing a hoodie, anyway”, said Yunho as he reached to button up Changmin’s raincoat. Changmin immediately slapped his hands away. Yunho retracted them back and threw them in the air in surrender.

He dug out an extra helmet and threw it towards Changmin. Changmin caught it with an irritated expression.

“Hurry up, I have places to be”, egged on Yunho. Changmin could just bludgeon his damn head with his stupid helmet. But he did need to get home so he gritted his teeth and put on the helmet instead.

Since he was still pissed, after he climbed on the back seat, he brought his hands around Yunho’s waist and tightened his embrace almost in a chokehold.

“Yaaa!!! Are you trying to break my ribs”, shouted Yunho in pain. Changmin smirked and pulled back his hands, “Didn’t know you were so fragile”

“Wow, I must be a masochist trying to help someone like you”, gritted out Yunho, in response.

“Ok fine, I am holding the backrest, can we just go now”, fussed Changmin gripping the backrest.

Yunho tsked and snatched Changmin’s hands away from the backrest. He put them back on his waist and said, “Hold on to me, but gently, like this”, he squeezed Changmin’s hands softly.

Changmin was blushing real hard, his ears burned. He hated himself for behaving like a tween who held hands with his crush for the first time. Because, Yunho was pretty far away from being anything but an annoying prick to him.

Changmin smacked Yunho’s stomach lightly to overcome his embarrassment, “I got it, can we please just go now”.

“Changminah, you are just honey and caramel”, remarked Yunho sarcastically as he turned his accelerator.

Changmin bristled at the nickname. He was about to voice his disapproval when he was jerked forward by the speed with which Yunho took off.

“Are you speeding, in the rain”, he shouted so that Yunho could hear him.

“Hey, everyone drives 10 over the speed limit. I am just trying to keep up”, shot back Yunho casually.

Yeah, they definitely weren’t keeping up, they were overtaking all the vehicles. Changmin dug his nails into Yunho’s stomach. Yunho flinched in pain. He gritted his teeth and decided to dish out some payback of his own. He started drifting too close to the ground, scaring the fuck out of Changmin if the expletives he spewed from the behind were any indication.

“Stop that! Can’t you just drive normally? I don’t want to die just because you are a show off”, shouted Changmin with a death grip on Yunho.

“God, do you ever stop complaining ? First of all, you have the privilege of sitting where I only let my significant others sit”, shot back Yunho irritated.

“Did they all dump you after the ride”, asked Changmin with contempt.

“I have half a mind to dump you”, replied Yunho again getting closer to the ground with another drift. Changmin flinched in horror. He decided to change his tactics.

“Let’s make a pact, if you slow down a bit, I will keep my mouth shut for the rest of the ride”, he coaxed loosening his hold on Yunho.

“Wow! I don’t think I can do without your constant nagging”

Seriously, this guy would never meet him in the middle.

“Slow down or I swear I will start tickling you”, warned Changmin seriously.

“Yah! We will actually crash if you do that”, Yunho shouted.

“Then, slow down”, coaxed Changmin lightly tapping Yunho on his stomach.

Fine, he would have to concede to the brat this time.

 

“Here, here”, said Changmin tapping Yunho urgently to stop.

“Do you really need to hit me? I can hear you”, complained Yunho as he made the stop. Changmin ignored the jab and got off the bike. He stripped off his helmet and tossed it at Yunho in hurry, which thanks to his reflexes, Yunho managed to catch before it could hit him on his chest.

 

“Thank You”, Changmin managed to grit out, pointedly not looking at Yunho. Yunho opened the visor of his helmet and said, “What was that? Could you repeat, loud and clear this time”

“Yunho-ssi your kindness knows no bounds. You are a regular Mother Teresa”, said Changmin in a fake honey dripping voice, mocking him.

“Good. If you practice enough, you probably can fake gratitude a little better”, remarked Yunho as he shut is visor once again and kicked the stand.

“Wait, take your raincoat back”, said Changmin urgently unbuttoning the raincoat but Yunho just drove away instead.

“What the fuck...”, uttered Changmin as he gaped at Yunho’s retreating figure. Changmin just shook his head at the man’s antics and turned towards the gate. An uneasy feeling swooped into his stomach.

 


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW! I am absolutely blown away by the response to this fic. Y'all s comments made my whole week! I will definitely reply to all of them. Hope everyone enjoys this update. Have a great weekend!

“Look at this! How the mighty have fallen”, remarked Siwon with a grin as he slid a file towards Yunho. A familiar face caught Yunho’s attention. It was a striking picture of the effusive Omega. Those big, beautiful eyes were literally piercing through the page. 

“A Marriage Profile”, Siwon’s voice broke Yunho out of his reverie. Yunho quickly flipped through the pages, it was definitely a marriage profile. “This is all so sudden”, said Yunho perplexed.

“Can’t say I did not see this coming, his old man is almost at the verge of bankruptcy. It was just a matter of Changmin breaking or bending. Looks like he decided to bend over”, said Siwon with a smirk. Yunho felt uncomfortable at the double entendre that Siwon made about Changmin. Changmin might have been rude to Siwon but there was no need to be that disrespectful about a person.

He chose not to comment on Siwon’s remarks and slid the file back instead. Apparently, Siwon was on a roll as he didn’t even notice Yunho’s lack of enthusiasm and continued, “I wonder what pushed him off the edge. I was so surprised when I saw his profile doing the rounds for marriage, I had to get one for myself” 

Yunho wondered if this was all related to last week when he had found a very upset Changmin near the banks of Han River. Despite the brave front the Omega had put up then, his red and puffy eyes had given him away. Yunho observed Siwon sipping his coffee, looking a little too gleeful and staring at Changmin’s picture, suddenly a thought popped up in his mind.

“Are you planning to send him a marriage proposal”, he asked. That caught Siwon by surprise, he almost spat out his coffee. “Why would you even say that? That’s ridiculous”, exclaimed Siwon.

“It’s just you brought up the whole topic and seemed somewhat invested. So, I assumed”, Yunho tried to explain. Siwon just shook his head , closed the file and stammered a bit, “I mmean.... I was his senior during University. He is very...beautiful but come on, you have seen him. What kind of a person would willingly marry a stone-cold person like him”

“Really? I would think, he would be flooded with offers. There’s no denying, he is pretty but he is also a Duke’s son”, countered Yunho casually, picking up on Siwon getting a little defensive when asked about Changmin.

“A Duke with a lot of debt and Changmin’s nature hasn’t really endeared him to anyone. So, all he’s got going for him is his face. So honestly, greasy elderly rich men with a thing for trophy spouses are his only prospects. And frankly, there are too damn many of them around, you know that”, said Siwon with a shrug.

The whole tangent left a bitter taste in Yunho’s mouth. Changmin wasn’t without his faults but to think someone prideful like him ending up as a trophy husband, for money, made Yunho feel queasy.

“Well, let’s just drop that topic. When are you going to announce about your relationship with Lady Go Ara”, said Siwon eager to change the topic.

“There’s nothing like that”, shot back Yunho, incredulously.

“Well, the gossip mags are convinced and frankly it seems bit too real, what with you stepping out as a hero and protecting her from the mob of fans during her shoot”, added Siwon with a smirk.

“Any decent person would have done that”, replied Yunho getting flustered.

“Sure”, hummed Siwon sipping his tea, totally not convinced. Yunho threw one last thoughtful glance at Changmin’s marriage profile.

 

* * *

 

“Umm... most of them are pretty decent. I mean some of them are outrageous, what with Mr.Yang offering the ownership to half of his businesses to Changmin”, said Leeteuk going through the overwhelming number of marriage proposals.

“Yang Hyun-suk is of my age. Just weed out those perverts”, said Duke Shim dismissively.

“Then, we probably won’t be left with much”, remarked Changmin casually, looking at the pile uninterestedly. The Duke ignored his jab. Leeteuk sort of wanted to agree with Changmin but he knew that the Duke wouldn’t appreciate it so, he continued looking through the pile, instead.

Changmin laid back on his chair and zoned out contemplating on how everything had drastically changed for him. A week ago, he had a boyfriend, some kind of control over his life. And now he was sitting here, being auctioned to the highest bidder.

 

_ “Were you ever going to tell us, if Dad hadn’t found out”, asked Changmin outraged. _

_ “No”, came the terse response from his mother. _

_ Changmin was stunned into a momentary silence. _

_ “How can you even say that? Don’t we have a right to know that you are dying”, he cried in anguish. _

_ “You do. But under these circumstances, I would’ve rather taken it to my grave”, stated his mother sternly. _

_ Changmin was baffled  by his mother’s response and questioned,“Is this really about money? We are the frigging Royalty, you think we can’t handle medical bills” _

_ “I know we can’t. Not with my condition”, his mother replied rather stoically. Changmin sighed in frustration feeling he wasn’t getting through to his mother. He took a seat beside his mother who was resting on her bed. He held her hands and pleaded her to look at him. _

_ “We can still manage something. You can’t just give up like this”, he said, his voice breaking a bit under the weight of emotions. _

_ His mother then showed first signs of emotion when she squeezed his hands hard. _

_ “I know exactly how you are planning to manage the situation. I cannot stop your father from pressuring you for marriage of convenience but I will not be the sole reason that makes you succumb”, with gravitas in her voice. _

_ Changmin’s anger steadily grew hearing his mother’s response. _

_ “What if I do that of my own accord? Then, what? All of this big sacrifice you think you are making will be for nothing”, he said, his rage barely suppressed. _

_ “Don’t be stupid, Minah. It’s your life we are talking about”, chided his mother, with anger radiating in her voice. Changmin couldn’t bear to hear any more of it. _

_ He retracted his hands and stood up as he said,“Are you seriously telling me that? After what you have decided to do with yours” _

_ “Yes, because I don’t have a long one ahead of me but you do. When I die, then what? You are going to regret your choices every single second of your life”, argued his mother, vehemently. _

_ “Right now, I regret not agreeing with Dad, earlier”, Changmin shot back in anger before he stormed out of the room. _

_ “Minah”, his mother’s shout fell on deaf ears. _

 

“Choi Siwon”, Leeteuk’s voice broke Changmin out of his thoughts.

He looked at their family’s trusted legal advisor frowning at a file. This had also peaked Duke Shim’s interest and he asked, “Earl Choi”.

“Seems like it. I am just making sure it’s legit”, replied Leeteuk, double-checking the file. Changmin looked at the gift box placed near the file. He lifted it close to him and read the card.

 

_ This pales in comparison, Changminnie _

_ Regards, _

_ Siwon  _

 

Changmin couldn’t suppress his wince at the cringe-worthy note. He opened the gift box, which revealed an expensive diamond studded choker. Leeteuk and the Duke both turned their attention towards the gift.

“Yeah, it’s him alright”, said Changmin shutting the box, with more force than required. Leeteuk was stunned by all of it. The Duke seemed to approve of it.

“I had no idea that Earl Choi was interested. He is the most sought after bachelor in the country. I thought he had already chosen someone for himself”, admitted Leeteuk.

“He used to be Changmin’s senior in college. He is always polite and welcoming whenever we meet him. A class act, I wouldn’t have even dreamt of having him as a son-in-law”, said the Duke quite pleased.

Changmin tuned out his father and Leeteuk waxing lyrical about how perfect Siwon was for him, without asking his opinion. He picked up a random file to distract himself else he would definitely have some cutting words to say which would no doubt offend his father.

He opened the file and frowned. That was, Jung Fucking Yunho’s face, he was looking at. His immediate reaction was to think that someone probably mixed up files or something. Because, the only thing Yunho and him would ever agree on is the fact that they absolutely hated each other. It made no sense that Yunho would be willing to ask for Changmin’s hand in marriage when they couldn’t even have a normal conversation without going at each other’s throats.

Still, he sneaked the file out from the office and took it with him. 

 

* * *

 

 

Later that night when he was two-thirds of his way to finishing his wine bottle, he thumbed through Yunho’s profile. He turned the page back to Yunho’s picture.

“Why the fuck is your face so small”, he whined.

“What do you want from me, huh? Aren’t you marrying that actress? Why the hell did you do this”, he asked agitated. He sighed and stretched out on his couch. His eyes fell on the raincoat that Yunho had lent him a week ago.

“Guhh... go away”, he grumbled and covered his eyes with his arms and fell into deep slumber.

* * *

 

 

Changmin found himself standing awkwardly holding a gift bag in front of Yunho’s secretary’s desk. Only the secretary was nowhere to be found. Fuck, he really just wanted to deliver the bag and leave. He heard noises of people talking so he followed along the corridor. He stopped as Yunho and Go Ara came into his view.

 

“You always make me feel like I am a true Princess”, said Go Ara straightening Yunho’s collar. Changmin cringed hard at that.

“No one should treat you any less than that”, said Yunho with a smile. Oh wow, Yunho was even worse. Changmin instantly imagined Yunho throwing corny lines at him and automatically cringed. He felt infinitely better thinking that Yunho’s proposal had indeed been a mistake, he couldn’t imagine spending his life with a cheese-ball like Yunho. Go Ara and Yunho looked like they were set to be a couple walking straight out of Hallmark movies. He retreated before the couple could break into a Disney musical ballad. 

 

Thankfully, the missing secretary was back by then. Changmin sighed and walked up to her. She was a pleasant elderly lady who asked Changmin politely if he could wait even a little bit because Yunho would be free soon. Changmin refused and just handed her the gift bag in a hurry and gave her his name. He heard Yunho and Go Ara’s voices coming closer. Changmin panicked, he really didn’t want to be seen by Yunho and Go Ara and then explain why he came to Yunho’s office and what was in the gift bag. Guhh... Go Ara would probably think that he was trying to ensnare her man.

 

He started walking towards the elevator but the voices followed him, which meant they were probably heading to the elevator as well. Thankfully, he spotted the restroom and ducked in there.

He waited there a bit, berating himself for even showing up to Yunho’s office. He should have fucking used FedEx, there is a reason delivery services exist! But, he really wanted to know why Yunho sent in a proposal, ask him face to face and put the matter to rest. Well, that wasn’t necessary anymore, he got the message loud and clear. And now, he has to hide in a restroom to stop things from being awkward. Damn he needed to stop making decisions when he was hungover in the morning.

He decided that enough time had passed and opened the door to make a swift exit. As he walked out, he collided with someone. “Ahh..”, he whined rubbing his head.

“Changmin”, he heard a familiar voice as he felt the man’s grip around his waist tighten.

Changmin was looking at him with a deer caught in headlights expression, Yunho almost laughed at it. 

Changmin panicked and uttered, “Raincoat”.

”What”, asked Yunho baffled. 

“I wanted to give you back your raincoat”, said Changmin in a rush of word vomit. 

“Oh”, replied Yunho, dumbfounded, still holding on to Changmin by his waist.

There was brief moment of silence where they just stood there, waiting for each other to say something. 

Changmin slowly tapped on Yunho’s hands and said, “I should go”. Yunho realised that he was still holding onto him and immediately released him. 

“Is that what brought you all the way here”, asked Yunho skeptically.

“Well, standing at Han River waiting for you wasn’t going to cut it, was it”, shot back Changmin, defensively.

Yunho shook his head exasperated, looked like he had to be blunt with the Omega.

“What about the marriage proposal”, asked Yunho. 

Changmin clammed up at that like he couldn’t believe Yunho had the gall to bring the matter up. 

“So, that wasn’t a mistake”, asked Changmin confused.

“Mistake? Yah, that’s a marriage proposal not a resume that I upload on so many job portals that I can’t even keep track of it”, shot back Yunho, a bit offended.

Yunho’s voice caught people’s attention and some of them were trying to get subtly closer to the scene. 

“Office”, mouthed Yunho and turned to walk in the direction of the his office, fully expecting Changmin to follow. Changmin almost contemplated getting in the elevator and leaving instead just to spite the Alpha. But, decided against it because he really did need an answer to why the Alpha was interested in marrying him.

 

* * *

 

 

“Chocolates”, asked Yunho inquisitively holding the box he had procured after opening the gift bag that Changmin had gotten for him. 

“I don’t want you thinking of me as some ungrateful punk who steals people’s raincoats and also eats their food. These chocolates are far more expensive than your measly fish cakes”, said Changmin from across Yunho’s desk.

Yunho scoffed, how very like Changmin to even look down on street food. 

“What was that for”, asked Changmin miffed at Yunho’s reaction. 

“Of course fish cakes are not a meal fit enough for a royal”, scoffed Yunho. 

“I never said that. Stop putting words in my mouth”, argued Changmin, fiercely. 

“Sure...”, said Yunho in a mocking tone as he dropped the box back in the bag.

“Yunho-ssi”, said Changmin to get Yunho’s attention. Yunho raised an eyebrow asking Changmin to go on. 

“Do you really want to marry me”, asked Changmin bluntly. 

Yunho sighed and then looked directly into Changmin’s eyes. “Yes”, he replied firmly.

Changmin shook his head in disbelief, “I don’t get it. Why? You clearly despise me”. 

Yunho tsked, “I think despise is a strong word. Do I think of you as a spoilt brat? Yes. Do I think of you as arrogant and prejudiced? Yes. But that isn’t nearly enough for me to despise you”.

If looks could kill, Yunho would have met a violent death by now. The omega’s fierce glare was a sight to behold. 

Yunho smirked at the riled up Omega, “Now, when I weigh the pros and cons of marrying you, of course a kind and loving spouse is out of the equation but the title of Duke would outweigh that”. 

“Well, did you take the overwhelming debts into the equation”, asked Changmin sarcastically.

“I think everyone and their dogs know about that”, replied Yunho nonchalantly. 

“Since we are being all logical here, aren’t there more pros to marrying Lady Go Ara? You get your Disney romance, title of a Marquess and no debts”, shot back Changmin, haughtily.

“Why bring her into this discussion”, asked Yunho irritated. 

Changmin smirked as he was able ruffle Yunho’s feathers, “Maybe because everyone and their dogs think that you both are dating”

“We are not”, shot back Yunho firmly. Changmin rolled his eyes at that.

“Seeing your enthusiastic response, I guess it doesn’t matter anymore”, remarked Yunho opening a file instead. 

“What doesn’t matter”, asked Changmin confused by Yunho’s snob. 

Yunho replied, not even looking up from the file, “You clearly are against the idea of marrying me so I don’t think there is anything left for us to discuss”. 

“I was just checking to see if you were trying to pull a fast one on me”,said Changmin, indignantly.

“I don’t play games, Changmin. It’s pretty much what’s on the paper. I wish to marry you, if you are willing. So, take it or leave it”, said Yunho with an air of finality. 

“It’s not that simple”, said Changmin in a somber tone.

Yunho sighed, “I figured”

The shrill ring of the desk phone interrupted them. Yunho gave him an apologetic smile and picked up the phone.

“Yes, in 15 minutes. Thanks for the reminder”, Changmin heard Yunho converse over the phone.

This seemed like a perfect out for him. He could just slip out of the office in the guise of giving Yunho his privacy and go home. They could both pretend that this whole day didn’t happen and put the crazy idea of marriage behind them.

Still, he found himself pushing his cellphone into Yunho’s hands after Yunho was done with his call. Yunho looked at the phone and then Changmin, quite lost.

“Put in your number”, prompted Changmin.

“What”, asked Yunho surprised.

“Would you stop clutching your pearls? I just asked for your number”, said Changmin haughtily in response. 

“Yah... telling me to put in my number isn’t ‘ _ asking _ ’ ”, exclaimed Yunho incredulously.

“Whatever! Not like you have got any legs to stand on after asking me to marry you”, scoffed Changmin.

Yunho shook his head and acquiesced. He hit call after he saved the number so that he could get Changmin’s number. 

“Wow! You didn’t even try to ask me”, exclaimed Changmin. 

“I don’t take calls from unknown numbers so it would really defeat the purpose if I didn’t save yours”, said Yunho calmly ignoring Changmin’s theatrics.

Changmin snatched his phone out of Yunho’s hands in silent rage.

“Hmm... what name should I save it under”, contemplated Yunho in a stage whisper.

Changmin rolled his eyes and started walking towards the door.

“Bambi”, heard Changmin has he halted and turned to throw a dirty look to a very amused Yunho.

“Excuse You”, scowled Changmin.

“What? It’s my phone, I can do what I want”, shrugged Yunho as he tried to smother his smile.

“Weirdo”, muttered Changmin under his breath and left the room.

Well, he could be petty too. He promptly changed ‘Jung Yunho’ to ‘Pabo’ in the contact name, in his phone.

 

* * *

 

“Is this going to be our Rendezvous point”

Changmin looked up as he saw Yunho sauntering towards his spot on the steps of Han River. He was about to throw in a snarky response to but he faltered when he noticed Yunho’s droopy shoulders and the huge bags under his eyes as he sat down beside Changmin with a sigh escaping his mouth. 

He looked wearily at the loosened tie ,folded sleeves and asked, “Did you come here straight from work”

“How did you guess”, scoffed Yunho in response.

“What with your exuberance, hard to miss”, retorted Changmin.

Yunho ran his hands through his face and sighed deeply. He was too exhausted to even keep up the banter.

“So, what is it that you wanted to talk about”, he asked massaging his forehead slightly.

 

Changmin had given the whole thing a lot of thought. The biggest advantage had to be the fact that Yunho was interested in his title and not him. He seemed to be someone who would be straightforward in his expectations with the marriage and not just expect Changmin to spread his legs for him, which is more than what he could say about everyone else who have extended marriage offers. Still, it wasn’t wise to pin all his expectations on Yunho’s proposal. He decided to start by laying down some hard truths from his side and then have Yunho make his decision.

He had called Yunho and asked him to meet up at Han River. However, now that both of them were sitting on the steps of Han River, he somehow found himself tongue-tied. A low gurgling noise startled Changmin. Changmin eyed Yunho accusingly. Yunho looked a little embarrassed and muttered “I skipped lunch”, slowing patting his stomach. 

“I walked past a fast food place when I was coming here. It smelled so good I almost wanted to ditch you and eat there”, lamented Changmin. 

Yunho scoffed at him in response. However, it was followed by an even noisier gurgling from his stomach, so the scoff kind of lost its effect.

“We should go there”, exclaimed Changmin tugging on Yunho’s hands with child-like excitement. 

Yunho’s eyes automatically went to where their hands were joined, which made Changmin conscious and he immediately retracted his hands. He slowly reached out and tugged on Yunho’s sleeve instead, making sure he wasn’t touching him directly. Yunho couldn’t help but smile at his coy gesture.

“Let’s go”, said Changmin in half-request and half-asking tone, throwing in his eyes wide eyed bambi impression for a good measure. 

Honestly, the Omega could make Devil do his bidding with those eyes. And Yunho was a mere mortal so he let Changmin lead him wherever he wanted to.

* * *

 

 

Changmin was amused by the stark difference between them. While Changmin ordered Jjampong, Yunho preferred Jjangmyeon. Even funnier was Yunho getting a Coca-Cola where Changmin really needed a beer to loosen up a bit and talk about their ‘marriage’. Changmin unwittingly smiled at the way Yunho was so concentrated on scarfing down his food that he didn’t feel the need to engage in small talk.This gave Changmin, the much needed silence to gather himself.

“I know, you are vaguely aware of my family’s financial troubles. But a sinking business is not the reason why I started looking for a marriage of convenience”, said Changmin in a solemn voice looking at Yunho.

Yunho was startled by Changmin’s voice cutting through the silence but quickly recovered and looked at Changmin with intrigue.

Changmin looked away as soon as their eyes met.

“My father’s debts or failed endeavours aren’t that important to me”, he said poking at his food.

“Really”, asked Yunho skeptically.

“Believe me, if that was important, I would have married 2 years ago”, replied Changmin with a piercing gaze.

Yunho and Changmin just silently looked at each. Changmin almost daring Yunho to question the sincerity of his statement and Yunho meeting his gaze, not being apologetic about being skeptical in the first place.

Changmin looked away first. He took a deep breath and started to poke the label of his beer. Yunho patiently waited for him to get his words out.

“My mother, she is suffering from Wolfsbane Syndrome”, he said, his nails scratching the label.

Yunho was dumbfounded. He certainly hadn’t seen that coming. Wolfsbane Syndrome was a life-threatening disease for a werewolf. It had the same effect on a werewolf’s body as a quickly spreading Wolfsbane poison would have. Normally, the werewolf healing could fight against it but once it spread to the heart, it meant a certain death.

There was only one institution in this Country that researched and treated Wolfsbane Syndrome. All they had were experimental drugs and treatments with a 70 percent chance of recovery, there was nothing that could be ascertained as a cure. Even passing the wait-list was a big money drain. And if they managed to do that then affording the full treatment would become an issue for Changmin’s family with their current financial position.

“We won’t have much hopes of saving her if she doesn’t start her treatment soon enough”, said Changmin snapping Yunho out of his thoughts.

“I could help you out”, offered Yunho immediately. 

Changmin shut him down with a withering glance.

“I am not looking for your sympathy or charity. Everyone who has extended a marriage proposal wants a trophy spouse who would bend over anytime for them, along with the title of a Duke. Except, you said all you were interested in, was the title and nothing else. Now that you know the true extent of the investment you will have to make from your side, do you still think it’s profitable for you”

Changmin looked at Yunho and could see something akin to pity on the Alpha’s face. Changmin loathed it and took swig of his beer as a distraction.

Yunho was feeling too many things at a time. He was still quite shocked to learn about Changmin’s mother’s ailment. He felt sad that someone like Changmin had to settle for a marriage of convenience. He also felt indignant about the fact that Changmin was treating the whole thing as business, taking away the humane part of it. 

He latched onto that annoyance and said, “Could you not talk about it like some calculated business deal”

“Why? Does it make it anything else if we pretend it isn’t? ” , retorted Changmin. The words were cutting, meant to sting but when Yunho looked at Changmin’s face, it told a completely different story. His big, watery, sad eyes coupled his pursed lips gave away his attempt at trying to hold on some vestige of pride in the face of complete exposure.

For a prideful person like Changmin, revealing their personal problems and desperation must take a lot out of him. His rude comments were like a shield that Changmin seemed to wield in vulnerable situations. Suddenly, Yunho was reminded of Changmin’s snide remarks when he had encountered an upset Changmin near the steps of Han River. Changmin had given him a verbal lashing when Yunho had tried to help him. Looking back now he could totally see his behavioral pattern.

Yunho himself had done that a lot of times. Coming from a humble background and trying to build a company at a young age, in the beginning he used to feel really small and like a fish out of water when meeting with big investors or even trying to build up relations with much more successful contemporaries. He still felt the same way even after he had risen to success. Especially when mingling with investors or contemporaries who came from old money. To them Yunho would always be a small town try-hard.

The Omega was now gazing absentmindedly out of the window since Yunho hadn’t spoken for a while. 

“Ok”, said Yunho with a sigh. 

Changmin turned to him, confused.

“Let’s make it a real business discussion, then. We will get our lawyers, discuss it and make a contract which is agreeable to both of us”, said Yunho seriously. Changmin regarded him in silence for a while.

“It’s hard to understand you”, he remarked finally. 

“It really isn’t”, Yunho said with a tentative smile on his face when Changmin let go of his beer and started scarfing down his neglected Jjampong instead.

Yunho slid his plate of Tangsuyuk towards Changmin. Changmin looked at him inquisitively.

“Think of this as a peace offering”, said Yunho coolly. He had expected Changmin to hesitate but he was proven so wrong. Changmin swooped in on it fast and devoured the whole plate before Yunho could even ask him to leave a bit for him. 


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Running a little today but the next chapter is here. I was so glad to read everyone's comments and thoughts on the plot and the chapters. I am grateful for every comment/ kudos! Hope you all have a great weekend.

“You want me to help you draw up a marriage contract? The Jung Yunho, who believes in fairy tales, love and Santa”, said Heechul with an air of incredulity. Yunho just rolled his eyes in response to his theatrics.

“Are you high”, asked Heechul seriously.

“When am I ever”, shot back Yunho incredulously.

“Am I high”, asked Heechul thoroughly confused.

“Even if you are, this shouldn’t be a problem for you”, retorted Yunho.

“What the hell, Yunho? This is just out of nowhere. You are in the papers with the Marquess' daughter but you really want to marry the Duke’s son. So either you are a real player or I am tripping”, said Heechul bewildered.

“I have always maintained that I am just friends with Ara. I don’t intend to marry her”, said Yunho firmly.

“Well, last time we talked about the Duke’s son, you said you were at odds with each other. Where is all this coming from”, asked Heechul

“Things happened”, said Yunho in a low voice. Heechul regarded him in silence for a bit and then suddenly asked, “Did you sleep with him”

“No”, exclaimed Yunho outraged.

“What else could have happened”, asked Heechul cynically, even making air quotes.

“I realised how profitable becoming a Duke would be for me”, replied Yunho with a nonchalant shrug. Heechul could feel a headache coming. He massaged his forehead and then gave a defeated sigh.

“Yunho-yah, even if you think you can really go through with a marriage of convenience, what about your family? How do you think your parents are going to react to this”, asked Heechul solemnly.

 

Yunho had no answer to that. His parents hadn’t pressured him about marriage especially after his last breakup. He was really close to getting married to his last girlfriend, he had introduced her to his family, his family even approved of her. In the end, he hadn’t seen the breakup coming. It was quite shocking for him. His family had rallied around him and had tried not to pry much into his love life. He loved and appreciated his family too much to go against their wishes and marry someone. They have had been his pillar of support for a long time, they definitely had a big say in who he got married to.

 

* * *

 

Changmin found himself distracted as him along with his father and Leeteuk walked to the conference room in Yunho’s office. His father was skeptical about the whole thing even if he had agreed to discuss the marriage proposal with Yunho. On top of that, Changmin received a text message Kyuhyun, the first one after Kyuhyun had broken up with him.

_I miss you. Do you?_

Changmin didn’t know what to reply to that, he couldn’t even begin to decipher what Kyuhyun’s intention was, behind the text. There was also a palpable anxiety niggling away at him, telling him that Yunho’s proposal would amount to nothing and he will have to end up mating Siwon. That alone made him feel queasy and depressed.

“Ahh Teukkie”

Changmin started as he heard the Omega beside Yunho exclaim as soon as they had entered the room. Changmin gave Yunho a questioning look but Yunho just looked as confused as him.

“I am Kim Heechul, Yundol’s lawyer”, said the Omega in a rush, in lieu of introduction to Changmin and his father. And then walked past them to Leeteuk in a hurry.

“Wow! Look at you, becoming the Duke’s lawyer. And what about your six pack, you still got’em”, wondered Heechul loudly and started feeling up Leeteuk’s abs.

The whole scene was so shocking that Changmin didn’t even know how to react. He looked at his father who looked absolutely scandalized by it.

“Heechul”, warned Leeteuk grabbing the Omega’s wandering hand, looking embarrassed.

“Hyung, you know him”, asked a surprised Yunho.

“In a biblical sense”, replied Heechul casually. Yunho almost laughed at how big Changmin’s eyes went at that, he personified the metaphor ‘deer caught in headlights’.

“Yah.. you were right, Yunho. He does look like Bambi”, remarked Heechul with a mocking laugh directed at Changmin.

 

Changmin immediately shot an accusatory look at Yunho. Yunho just shrugged unapologetic.

The Duke looked so uncomfortable by the whole thing, he probably wanted the ground to swallow him up.

“Don’t worry about the conflict of interest thing, it was long time ago. Aren’t you married with 2 and a half kids now”, Heechul egged Leeteuk on.

Leeteuk looked pained at Heechul’s words. As far as Changmin knew, Leeteuk only had a puppy waiting for him back home so that was sort of a low blow. Changmin suddenly felt validated that he had decided to get a little drunk before coming here. He definitely needed it.

 

* * *

 

 

“Regardless of a divorce, I will still cover any medical expenses for Duchess Shim”

Yunho’s voice caught Changmin’s attention. He had zoned out when his father and Yunho were hashing out the details regarding the debts that he would require the Alpha’s help with. That was never his concern when it came to a marriage of convenience. What he wanted was to ensure that his mother got the treatment she needed without worrying about their financial troubles. He was really touched that Yunho had prioritized that above everything.

“Then, you get to keep the title of a ‘Duke’ regardless of a divorce”, Changmin promptly replied before his father could say anything. The Duke seemed furious at Changmin’s offer. Changmin gave him a silent challenging look as if daring him to overturn what he said. Changmin turned his gaze at Yunho, he had quite a poker face so he couldn’t discern his feelings regarding it. Heechul on the other hand seemed very amused. Of course, they all must think him a fool to hand over the title so easily but it was nothing in front of what Yunho had offered to do for his mother.

Heechul smirked and read from his file, “If the divorce is initiated from your side, all the financial help you would have received towards saving Shim Enterprise will be owed as debt”

Changmin didn’t have to look at his father and Leeteuk to know that they were dumbfounded.

“What if the divorce is initiated from your side”, Changmin asked instead of commenting on the previous clause.

“Then, there will be no debts owed”, replied Yunho firmly.

“What about kids”, asked Changmin suddenly to see he could break the stoic expression that Yunho had maintained during the whole meeting.

“It’s your body, your decision”, replied Yunho promptly. He must have thought over the matter of kids and come to a firm decision, Changmin thought. So, he went ahead and asked the real question.

“What if I never want to have kids”

 

Changmin never had the stereotypical dream of settling down and having kids. He was too much of a cynic to believe in the apple-pie life. He just had never been good with kids nor had he ever taken any interest in them. Even when he was dating Kyuhyun, he never saw himself becoming father in the future. And if he couldn’t picture that with Kyuhyun, there was no chance of him having kids in a marriage of convenience.

 

Yunho had sort of expected that. Changmin always seemed to have that air of superiority around him due to fact that he was born into a royal family. Obviously, he was willing to bend the rules for the sake of his financial troubles but having a child with Yunho, someone below his station, would be beneath him. He had thought about it a lot and bitterly accepted it. Even though he did have the desire to have a big family of his own with his mate once upon a time, the reality had kicked in. There was no place for love in his life especially with his work. And if there was no love then it wouldn’t be fair to bring kids into the picture. Especially, not with someone like Changmin.

 

“Still your choice”, Yunho replied after a brief pause. All the while, the Duke was glaring daggers at the Omega. Looked like his own father disapproved of the Omega’s stance.

 

Changmin was looking at Yunho trying to gauge if he did mean what he said. He couldn’t believe that the Alpha did not fight him on this. This match almost felt too good to be true at this point.

 

“However, there is something far more important that is required should you agree to go ahead with the marriage”, said Yunho in a menacing tone.

 

Of course, there was a punchline to all of this. The cynic in Changmin had been extremely suspicious of everything going so well.

 

“My family will have to agree to this union. They don’t know anything about the contract and I would like to keep it that way. For them, this will just be presented as a normal arranged marriage prospect. I want you to meet them, first”, said Yunho looking into Changmin’s wary eyes.

 

Changmin’s expression immediately shut off at that. Suddenly, he looked like he wanted to leave the meeting immediately. True to his deduction, the Omega stood up and said, “I think we are done here”

 

* * *

 

Changmin stormed into the restroom in anger. He immediately heard the door click open and then close behind. He really wasn’t in the mood to see Yunho.

“What’s wrong”, asked Yunho bewildered.

Changmin turned towards him furious.

“What was the point of wasting your and my time, if you weren’t serious about marrying me”

 

That clearly ticked Yunho off as he fervently shot back,

“Are you kidding me? I put in so much effort and consideration into it, got my lawyer involved, talked things over with your father. You think I am not serious about it”

“Do you seriously think that your parents are going to be gung-ho about me”, scoffed Changmin.

“What’s the harm in meeting them”, asked Yunho incredulously.

“What’s the point? You don’t like me, why do you think your family will”, spat back Changmin derisively.

Yunho couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “What kind of logic is that? You are respectable and look quite alright. As long as you treat them with respect...”

Changmin cut in, “See, that’s the problem. You just assumed that I would be disrespectful towards them”

“I haven’t really seen you treat people respectfully”, stated Yunho coldly

“By people, you mean yourself”, scoffed Changmin rolling his eyes

“How about anyone below your station”, shot back Yunho irritated.

“What”, asked Changmin confused. Yunho shook his head in anger. Changmin obviously had classist tendencies which Yunho could tolerate upto some extent but the fact that he was pretending like he was innocent, infuriated Yunho to no end.  

“I do have eyes, you know. I saw how you treated everyone in that party we first met. Even someone like Siwon”, said Yunho with derision.

The Omega looked furious at Yunho’s words. He then shook his head slowly. Yunho could see his anger turn into disappointment.

“Then, you never should have bothered with someone like me”, said Changmin and left.

 

* * *

 

Heechul, Yunho and Donghae had known each other since college. Heechul was a 3rd year law student while Yunho and Donghae were engineering freshers. All three of them used to room together. Heechul being the eldest always got them booze, dragged them into questionable parties (most of which they enjoyed) and took care of them in his own eccentric way. After he graduated, he moved to an apartment and coaxed both Yunho and Donghae to move in with him for their remaining 2 years of college. He also made them pay a smaller amount of rent because both Yunho and Donghae came from very humble backgrounds to afford the anything outside of the university dorm.

 

Yunho did owe a great deal of his success to Heechul. The invention that made Yunho’s business empire was his ambitious college project which he had made possible after many trials and tribulations, running only on energy drinks and little to no sleep. It was Heechul who pushed him to patent it even though Yunho had decided against it due to lack of funds. Yunho had thrown in all his savings, taken up extra jobs to get the patent, which Heechul had helpfully write as an attorney.

 

Later when a big company tried to plagiarize his invention, the patent had been a life-saver. Heechul also took up the case even though he was a newbie himself against the big named Corporate lawyers, without any legal fees, because Yunho was in his final year during the legal battle with little to no money under his name. Heechul did win the case and the payout from that helped Yunho start his own company. Obviously, the case was a landmark for Heechul’s career too and it helped his career take off too. But more than that he had Yunho’s back when no one else would. Heechul still remains an important person and a really close friend in his life.

 

Hence, he had trusted him with the marriage contract too. Which is why he knew Heechul would never shut up about it.

 

“Hmm.... the Duke’s son is a stunner. You both would make beautiful babies”, remarked an extremely drunk Heechul. Donghae and Yunho eyed him wearily.

 

“Oopppss... he doesn’t want kids”, Heechul exclaimed and burst out into giggles. Yunho massaged his forehead. Usually, werewolves could only get intoxicated for a brief period of time because of their natural accelerated healing. Hardcore drinkers would mix some wolfsbane to slow down the healing so that they could enjoy the intoxication for a longer time. Yunho wasn’t one of them. However, Heechul was and usually he was loose-lipped but a drunk Heechul was a scary sight to behold. Yunho and Donghae always made sure that either of them accompanied him as Heechul would surely offend someone or piss someone off. There have been some fists thrown around by the offended party on occasions. Heechul called Yunho and Donghae his own bodyguards.

 

Today, Heechul was targeting Changmin. Yunho was thankful that the fiery Omega was nowhere in proximity otherwise he would have bitten their heads off. However, it seemed more and more likely that Yunho wouldn’t ever hear from Changmin again. After their heated discussion, a couple of days ago, there has been radio silence from the Omega.

 

“Itsss good that he ran off. I mean, were you really gonna marry someone taller than you ? Shit, did you see his big eyes when he was glaring? I wouldn’t wanna see that when I wake up in the middle of the night to pee”, chuckled Heechul.

Donghae burst out laughing at that. Yunho just shook his head. He had had enough Changmin talk for the night. He diverted the subject and asked, “But Hyung, what’s your beef with his lawyer”

“Ahh Teukkie...”, sighed Heechul and took another shot.

“Old story, we were roommates before I met you guys. Had a big stick up his ass, always nagging me for not cleaning up, not being responsible and stuff. He considered me his rival because we both were top of the class. He accused me of unfairly getting the grades because I was sleeping with the TAs”, said Heechul.

“Wow, that’s going too far! Spreading lies about you just because he was jealous”, tutted Donghae.

“He wasn’t lying though, I did sleep with the TAs. But not for grades, just because they were hot”, said Heechul nonchalantly. Donghae and Yunho side-eyed him hard.

“Anyway, at some point we stopped arguing and started sleeping with each other instead”, continued Heechul.

“Natural progression”, said Yunho sarcastically nodding along.

“Then, one day out of the blue, he said he didn’t want to be fuck buddies anymore because he couldn’t let himself fall for someone like me who doesn’t have any place for marriage and kids in his future”, said Heechul in an uncharacteristically solemn voice. Donghae and Yunho picked up on the change of mood.

“I am sorry that happened”, said Donghae.

Heechul broke into laughter all of a sudden and said,

“Yah, feel sorry for Teukkie, not me. Any lawyer worth their salt knows better than to believe in the apple-pie life bullshit”.

Yunho could clearly see that Heechul was trying to mask some amount of pain by making light of the whole issue. When he reached for another glass, Yunho cut him off.

“Yahh...is this how you behave with your elders”, exclaimed Heechul.

“Yes. Especially when we are responsible for carrying your drunk ass home”, retorted Donghae.

This led to Heechul going off on a spiel about ungrateful _dongsaengs_ with a barrage of curses and constantly increasing volume, which was starting to draw attention.

“Alright, we are done here”,said an exasperated Yunho as he stood up and lifted the drunk Omega off his chair.

“Oohh... manhandling! You better not start something you can’t follow through, Yundol”, said Heechul suggestively rubbing Yunho’s chest.

“Who says I won’t”, responded Yunho with a smirk.

“Just stop, you two”, said Donghae pushing both of them.

As Donghae was ushering them out of the bar, Heechul halted looking in a particular direction.

“Wait! Isn’t that the father of your future kids”, he said peering at a table.

Yunho turned his eyes towards the table and found Changmin slumped over a table staring off into the distance. Yunho noticed the two bottles on the table but there was only one glass. That was too much for one person to be drinking but there was no evidence of anyone else being with the Omega.

“Is that the Duke’s son? Wow... way out of your league, man”, remarked Donghae breaking Yunho out of his thoughts.

“Tch.. what kind of a weirdo drinks alone”, snarked Heechul.

Yunho had had a glimpse of the pressure that Changmin was under. With his mother’s failing health ,the ongoing tension with his father and his own pride , the Omega seemed to be stretched too thin. This wasn’t the first time he had encountered the Omega stewing alone in his misery with a forlorn expression in his face, which was a bit worrying.

Suddenly, Changmin turned his gaze towards his direction. He squinted a bit and then his eyes widened in recognition. Their eyes met for a bit and then Changmin coolly turned his head in another direction and ignored him.

 

_“Then, you never should have bothered with someone like me”_

 

Changmin’s last words to him echoed his head.

“That brat”, exclaimed Heechul, indignantly after Changmin ignored them.

“Let’s go”, said Yunho calmly, turning towards the exit.

“Dude, you are not going to...”, Donghae trailed off glancing towards Changmin.

“I am not his keeper”, replied Yunho as he walked out of the door. Donghae and Heechul followed after him.

 

* * *

 

 

Changmin had lost track of time. He remembered getting a text from Kyuhyun asking to meet him. Being in dilemma whether he wanted to meet him and open up fresh wounds for both of them. He had finally acquiesced and met Kyuhyun, only to get into an ugly argument with him.

 

_“I want us back”, said Kyuhyun looking into Changmin’s eyes, trying to convey his seriousness._

_Changmin looked away and replied, “There is no point talking about things that can’t happen”_

_“Can’t or you don’t want them to happen”, he heard Kyuhyun’s cruel words._

_“What do you mean”, Changmin asked offended._

_“Moved on pretty fast, didn’t you”, remarked Kyuhyun, the hurt clear in his voice._

_Changmin scoffed bitterly at that, “That’s rich, coming from you. You are the one who said that you were going to accept someone else’s marriage proposal”_

_“And not once did you oppose it”, shot back Kyuhyun betrayed._

_“What should have I said? Ditch your parents, run away with me? ”, defended Changmin trying not to feel like the guilty party in the whole thing_

_“That would have been better than your silent understanding. At least something to show that you cared about our relationship”, cried Kyuhyun in anguish._

_Changmin felt so betrayed just listening to all of this talk._

_“How long have you known me, Kyu? How could you possibly think that I wasn’t invested in us? Just because I didn’t say anything doesn’t mean I was unaffected. I fought with my father till the end and kept rejecting every proposal, even though my family had financial troubles, that is how much I valued our relationship”_

_“Then, why can’t you do it now”, asked Kyuhyun frustrated._

_“Because Mom’s dying”, cried out Changmin._

 

The rest of the time was spent in explanation and apologies. Changmin didn’t need any more of the sorries, he has been feeling plenty sorry for himself.

“What kind of a weirdo drinks alone”

Changmin rolled his eyes at the comment. Apparently, drowning alone in your sorrows offended people’s delicate sensibilities now. He turned to throw a nasty glare in the direction of the voice. Shit, his eyes were unfocussing. He squinted hard and could finally see the trio across the room.

Of course, Jung fucking Yunho once again, was standing there looking at him some disapproval in his eyes. That guy seemed to magically appear whenever Changmin was at his worst. Changmin sighed and turned his head away. Changmin didn’t have the energy to even reflect on what had gone down between Yunho and him. The man had offered Changmin an oasis in the desert, which turned out to be a mirage. To be honest, he didn’t blame Yunho for expecting Changmin to win his parent’s approval. He blamed himself for getting all his hopes pinned on an unlikely marriage proposal. He sighed and poured another one.

 

* * *

 

 

Yunho got stuck with a drunk Heechul in the rain while Donghae went to get the his car.

“Yah...shouldn’t you take your jacket off and shield us both from the rain”, egged Heechul elbowing Yunho in his arm.

“Why? You are wearing the thicker jacket out of both of us”, defended Yunho.

“Pssht... what kind of an Alpha are you! This is textbook scenario where the Alpha demonstrates his manliness by all the cringeworthy gestures. Bet you would do that for Bambi”, ranted Heechul. Yunho wasn’t paying attention as he was distracted by Changmin stepping out of the bar with wobbly legs.

He seemed to be imbalanced and taking careful steps. After a few steps, he grabbed a nearby pole and just leaned against it.

“Dude, get in”, Donghae’s voice pulled his attention back. Donghae had already gotten his car around the curb and unlocked the passenger side for them to get in. Yunho threw another glance at Changmin who still leaning heavily on the pole.

He opened the door and gently nudged Heechul on to the seat. Once he was settled, he reached around and fastened the seat-belt for him as well. He then closed the door and leaned to talk through the open window.

“Take care of Hyung. I have to...”, Yunho trailed off once again turning back to look at Changmin, who was now completely wet and slumping over the pole.

“Do you want me to wait for you”, shouted Donghae over the rain.

“No, go ahead”, Yunho waved him off.

“You sure”, asked Donghae surprised.

Yunho nodded and started taking fast steps towards Changmin.

 

Once he reached there, he waited a bit for Changmin to open his eyes. But it didn’t seem like he was planning on doing that anytime soon with his steady heavy breathing.

“Changmin”, he called out a little sternly to wake him up

“Hmmm”, drawled out Changmin, unmoving.

“What are you doing here”, asked Yunho, his irritation seeping through his voice.

“Resting”, he grumbled. Changmin tried to readjust his grip on the pole but it slipped.Fortunately, Yunho was fast enough to catch him

“Seriously, how drunk are you”, grunted Yunho shaking Changmin by his arms. Changmin slowly opened his eyes and seemed to recognize him.

He slowly looked on towards the parking lot and mumbled, “I want to... my car”

“You are not thinking of driving in your condition, are you? You can barely stand”, cried out Yunho in anger. Changmin didn’t take the rise in voice well, he pushed at Yunho to let go of him.

Yunho released his grip on Changmin and took a couple of steps back to give him some space. Changmin then slowly started making his way towards the parking lot uttering,

“Need to... sleep it off... my car... itsss warm”

Yunho pinched the bridge of his nose, urging himself to calm down. He slowly started following Changmin to his car. Changmin came to a stop near a car which Yunho assumed was his. Changmin took out a key and then stood there silently staring at the door.

 

Yunho lost his patience and asked,

“What is it”.

Changmin jumped at his voice. He looked back with a pitiful expression and said with a pout,

“There’s no keyhole”

“It’s the passenger side”, prompted Yunho helpfully.

“Aah”, exclaimed Changmin realization dawning.

“Why don’t you let me drive you home”, asked Yunho extending his hand to ask for the keys. Changmin pouted a bit but dropped the keys into Yunho’s waiting palm.

“Ok”, sighed Yunho and unlocked the car and then the front passenger seat. Changmin climbed in quietly and shut the door meekly.

Yunho went on to adjust the seat and the mirror to fit him as the Omega was taller than him. Once he was satisfied, he asked, “Where do you live”

He just heard soft snores in reply. He turned his head to look at Changmin. The Omega was out like a light by now.

“Changmin-ah”, tried Yunho.

No response. Yunho carefully reached out and gently patted him on the cheek. Changmin just shivered a bit and turned away from Yunho’s touch.

Yunho huffed and said, “Guess I’ll have to take you to my place instead”.

“Buckle up”, he murmured as he reached around to fasten Changmin’s seatbelt.

Changmin just shivered and tried to get comfortable. Yunho touched Changmin’s hands briefly, they were cold.

Yunho immediately turned up the heater. After a bit of indecision, he unzipped his jacket and covered Changmin with it. He found some tissues and carefully wiped water droplets off Changmin’s face. Changmin kept tossing his head around trying to get rid of his wet hair that was falling onto his eyes. Yunho shifted his attention to it. He gently finger-combed Changmin’s wet bangs backwards, his fingertips lightly grazing Changmin’s scalp. Changmin let out a soft moan at that. Yunho immediately retracted his hands in panic. He blew out a breath and placed his hands on the steering wheel.

“Lets go”, he said to himself.


	4. Chapter Four

“That Omega’s already got Yunho by his balls”, remarked Heechul with a derisive laugh.

“You know him. Dude’s whole life is an application for sainthood”, Donghae defended keeping his eyes on the road.

“He is a sucker, that’s what he is. He is totally buying into his Omega in distress act”, added Heechul with a snort.

“Even if he did, didn’t the guy already refuse his marriage proposal”, retorted Donghae slowing down at the red light.

“Oh Donghae, you naive, simple Beta, you have no idea how the push-pull thing works”, spoke Heechul condescendingly.

“I don’t think there’s anything left to pull anymore”, muttered Donghae waiting for the light to change.

“Fuckkkk... after everything, that brat’s gonna end up as Mrs. Jung”, exclaimed Heechul suddenly, startling Donghae.

“There are so many things wrong with that sentence, I don’t even know where to begin”, said Donghae shaking his head at Heechul’s drunken rant.

“Maaaaan, I pity the kids”, added Heechul condescendingly.

“Would you just pass out already”, shot back Donghae tired of dealing with Heechul’s incessant drunk chattering. He internally cursed Yunho for leaving him alone to deal with a drunk Heechul. He really hoped that Yunho was having a tougher time than him, that punk deserved it.

 

* * *

 

 

Yunho cut out the engine after parking. He turned to look at Changmin, who was sound asleep. Yunho didn’t even hear a peep from him while he was driving. Yunho scrunched his nose wary of the difficult task of getting Changmin out of the car.

“Changmin”, he said in a stern voice, shaking one of Changmin shoulders lightly. No reaction.

“Changminah”, he said a little louder and patted the Omega’s left cheek. Damn, the Omega was a heavy sleeper, he didn’t even stir. Yunho didn’t want to have to carry his 6 foot-deadweight-ass home. It had been a long day and he was too tired to deal with this shit.

Yunho held Changmin’s face in both his hands and shook him with a little force, “Wake Up”

“Why”, Changmin finally responded meekly batting away Yunho’s hands, eyes still closed but face twisted in irritation.

Yunho shot back indignantly, “Why? You can’t sleep in here”

“Why”, asked Changmin with a pout, moving around to settle into a more comfortable position, he still did not deem it necessary to open his eyes. Yunho blew out a breath in frustration, the Omega was just too stubborn there was no point reasoning with him, maybe he would be more receptive to requests.

“Let’s just get inside. You will be more comfy in a bed”, Yunho said coaxingly.

“No”, replied Changmin promptly snuggling deeper into Yunho’s jacket.

“Are you arguing with me now, of all times”, uttered Yunho in disbelief.

“No”, replied Changmin in a tiny voice.

Yunho chuckled helplessly and remarked, “I can see that you are going to be very helpful”

Yunho sighed and mentally prepared himself to carry the drunk Omega all the way into his house. Figured that he would have to carry his royal pompous ass, princess style. He could only imagine how much of a sucker Heechul would call him if he saw him now.

Yunho got out of the car and went to open the passenger side door. He wound his arms Changmin’s back and back of his knees and lifted him out of the car. Yunho swayed, struggling to keep his balance with the Omega’s weight. Changmin groaned due all the movement.

“Just don’t throw up on me”, pleaded Yunho breathlessly as he finally gained a foothold.

“I am not even your husband, why do I have to carry you across the threshold”, Yunho muttered as he crossed the threshold with some difficulty.

“Be quiet”, moaned Changmin in his sleep.

“Yah, don’t tell me what to do”, retorted Yunho sharply, though he placed Changmin on the couch with a gentleness that contradicted the harshness of his words.

Changmin frowned in his sleep and started to move around, probably trying to find a comfortable position, Yunho guessed.

“Wait here, I will get you some towels and dry clothes”, said Yunho and moved towards his bedroom. He belatedly realized the humour in his statement, asking Changmin to wait there when the Omega was clearly down for the count.

Yunho spent an embarrassing amount of time picking out clothes for Changmin. There wasn’t much in his freshly laundered pile of clothes, mostly because he always procrastinated doing his laundry. Yunho was bigger in the chest area compared the Omega so all his shirts were going to be loose on him. He wanted to avoid the well-worn ones because after all, Changmin was royalty! He didn’t have many long trousers but he wondered if any of them would fit the long-legged Omega. Shorts were a safe option but he worried that those could be misconstrued as suggestive depending on the length of the shorts.

After a while, Yunho just abandoned his search and settled for just fetching a bathrobe along with towels, for now. After retrieving them, he walked back to the living room and froze in his tracks as he took in the sight in front of him.

At some point, Changmin had shucked off all his clothes and was currently curled up on the couch, covered only in Yunho's jacket. Yunho stood there, blood pounding his ears. It looked like a cover of an erotica, except even more arousing to Yunho because it was Changmin. Yunho had never denied the physical attraction he felt towards Changmin, the Omega was gorgeous, it would be a lie to claim otherwise. But now somewhat getting a glimpse into Changmin’s feistiness and vulnerabilities juxtaposed with how he currently lay before him looking so innocent with his pursed lips and furrowed brows, eyes tightly shut, hugging the jacket tightly,  it stirred up some feelings in Yunho that he didn’t want to examine closely. Feelings that were suspiciously akin to wanting to make the Omega his own. His to protect, his to punish and his to cherish.

Yunho shook his head to shake off his thoughts, the Alpha part in him was making him think utter nonsense! He took a deep breath and was grateful that he hadn’t sprung a boner like a teenager who just discovered skin mags. He tossed the towels on the table and decided to get Changmin wrapped in the robe first.

“Changmin”, he called out sternly. There was no response, as expected. Yunho tried to wake him up by patting his cheeks but Changmin didn’t even stir. Yunho shook his head and gave up all hopes of waking Changmin up tonight.

He sat down on the couch, placing himself in the space between Changmin’s head and the arm of the couch. Folding his right leg so that it could rest against the back of the couch, he reached forward to get his arms around Changmin’s armpits. he then dragged him backwards so that he could lie on Yunho’s chest. Yunho jumped a bit when Changmin’s wet hair came in contact with his chest, the cold sensation seeped through his shirt and made him startle.

He made a quick work of wrapping the bathrobe around Changmin. As he was doing the ties of the robe, Changmin started to move around. He turned his head around trying to find a comfortable position on Yunho’s chest. Yunho went still hoping that Changmin would wake up but that didn’t happen, Changmin was out again. Yunho then finished tying the robes and stretched around to get one of the towels.

He gently started drying off Changmin’s hair. Changmin started giving out tiny moans at that and moved his head to bury his face in Yunho’s chest.

“Changminah, that’s not a pillow”, remarked Yunho amused by his actions as he continued drying Changmin’s hair.

Changmin slowly moved his hands that lay around Yunho’s waist. He slowly dragged his nails way up Yunho’s body. Yunho paused, Changmin’s ministrations were leaving warm and tingling sensation all over his body. He decided to hurry and finish off the drying before his nether regions revealed how much his body was enjoying the Omega’s attention. He continued with his tasks despite Changmin now dragging his nails in circles around Yunho’s nipples. Suddenly, Yunho felt Changmin dig his nails in with a little pressure, his cock jumped in response. Flabbergasted, Yunho dropped the towel and slid out of the couch but being careful that Changmin’s head didn’t hit the armrest.

Yunho was burning with shame, his heart was pounding, he was getting hard all the while Changmin lay there on the couch unmoving and innocent. Yunho took deep breaths and paced back and forth to calm down. Rustling noises made Yunho turn his attention back to Changmin.

The Omega was moving around again, he settled in a position that indecently parted his robes, revealing his boxers which made it very obvious that Changmin had gotten hard too.

Yunho wanted to pull his hair and scream. This is not how he had pictured everything going down when he had offered Changmin a ride. He had hoped to drop him off safely to his house with a big lecture regarding drinking and safety, not end up acting out the start of a bad porno.

Fuck this, he needed to stop thinking and take a cold shower. He abandoned all his thoughts and lifted Changmin in his arms and carried him to the guest room. He placed him on the bed gently and then proceeded to bury him in blankets. He left him a glass of water and left him some painkillers, in case the Omega’s natural healing didn’t get rid of the hangover completely by the time he woke up. He left a small lamp on so that Changmin didn’t startle in case he woke up in the middle of the night to stark darkness.

He caught a indecently loud moan from Changmin as he stretched and snuggled into the blankets. At that Yunho, heart lurched a bit, which was more dangerous than the problem in his pants. Yeah, he really need that frigid shower right about now.

As he was walking towards his own room, he paused near the thermostat. Yunho usually liked to keep the thermostat lower than normal because he enjoyed the feeling of covering himself in a blanket with the surroundings being cold. Other people had always termed it as a weird habit but that’s how Yunho was and he didn’t care about how others felt about it. His mother always said it was because he was a winter baby. However, he wondered if Changmin would be comfortable with it, since he was out in the rain for sometime and was wearing just a robe and even with the blankets that Yunho had buried him in, he might feel a bit chilly. Yunho turned up the temperature couple of degrees higher and decided that he would just sleep in his boxers instead. As he headed to his room, he could clearly hear Heechul calling him a sucker in his head. Maybe he was a sucker for Changmin, but just for tonight. Tomorrow morning, he would give the Omega a stern dressing down for being so careless!

 

* * *

 

_Changmin found himself in his college library walking towards a deserted bookshelf. Changmin was confused, he had graduated from college a long time back. He examined the books, it was the Agriculture section, no one ever came here, he usually got Kyuhyun in here so that they could make out. Suddenly, he felt someone press up behind him and entwine their hands together. His scent while tempting, was not Kyuhyun’s, Changmin noticed that the person’s hands were bigger than his, which was definitely weird because Kyuhyun’s hands were smaller._

 

_“Changminah”, was softly whispered in his ears._

_He immediately recognized the soft timbre of the voice, he turned to find Yunho looking at him mischievously._

_“Yunho, what... you didn’t even go to college with me”, asked Changmin bewildered._

_“What ? Are we role-playing too”, asked Yunho confused and softly combing back Changmin’s long fringe covering his right-eye._

_Changmin realized that he probably looked the same as he did in college, when he had long hair and went all out covering his right-eye like an anime character, which was impractical but was cool back then. Which made him even more confused about Yunho’s presence._

_“What are you doing here”, asked Changmin completely lost._

_“Seriously ? Do you want me to read out the whole dirty details of what you texted me of all the things you wanted me to do to you, here”, asked Yunho with a sheepishly._

_Changmin blushed hotly, “But that was for Kyu”, he stuttered._

_“Lies”, whispered Yunho in his ears before capturing his mouth in a searing kiss._

_Changmin was too shell-shocked to respond to that. But Yunho didn’t give up, he bit down on Changmin’s lower lip which made Changmin open his mouth in shock. Yunho sneaked his tongue in. The moment their tongues caressed, Changmin went a little weak in his knees. He grabbed onto Yunho’s chest which was surprisingly soft and pillowy, Changmin moaned in response. Yunho chuckled lightly lifted one of Changmin’s legs and wrapped it around his waist. Changmin moaned as he felt their hardness against each other separated by layers of clothes._

_“Shhh... you don’t want to get thrown out of the library”, whispered Yunho softly in his ears as he covered his mouth with huge hand._

_Fuck, that turned Changmin on so much, his cock jerked, Yunho smirked as he felt that. Yunho pressed him against the shelf and then started thrusting against him relentlessly. Changmin drove in his nails into Yunho’s lush chest and started panting against Yunho’s hand that was still closing his mouth._

_Yunho had buried his face in Changmin’s long mane, panting into it. Changmin was equal parts turned-on and scared. Kyu and him had only kept it to kissing and groping in here. But what he was doing with Yunho, that was public sex! Changmin bit into Yunho’s palm to stop himself for creaming his pants. Yunho gently removed his hand from Changmin’s mouth and brought it towards the Omega’s tensed lower abdomen._

_Yunho touched their noses together and whispered against his lips, “Let go, you know you want to” and pressed down on his lower abdomen._

_Changmin bit Yunho’s plush lower lip as he lost control and came in his pants. He panted against Yunho’s mouth, wrung out by the force of his orgasm. Both of them startled when they heard a book drop nearby. Changmin panicked and looked in the direction only to find Kyuhyun standing there and looking at him shocked and hurt. He could see his eyes welling up at the evidence of betrayal._

 

Changmin woke up from his sleep, startled badly.

“What the fuck”, he muttered sitting up, his heart was beating like he had just ran a fucking marathon. His boxers were tented with his morning wood but at least he hadn’t come in his pants, small mercies. He felt disoriented a bit and held his head.

“Fucking hell”, he cursed. What a weird-ass dream! It was definitely a memory of him and Kyu but somehow it got twisted and more perverted by inserting Yunho in it. The worse thing was his dream self was so hard up for it that it affected his body in the real world too. He couldn’t shake off the guilty feeling even though it was just a dream he had no control over. Getting wasted was definitely the worst idea ever, it was making him lose his mind.

He decided to focus on more important things like where the hell he was! Oh the horror, there were floral wallpapers on the walls! He just hoped there weren’t doilies on the nightstand. At least the room didn’t smell like mothballs which was definitely a plus. Changmin looked at what he was wearing, it was a dark red robe. He looked at the nightstand, hoping to find his phone there. Thankfully, it was there, placed beside a glass of water and some pills. He looked at the time and it read 8:17 am.

He noticed a photo frame on the nightstand. It was clearly a picture of Jung Yunho with a girl, they seemed to be hugging each other and smiling at the camera. Suddenly Changmin’s memories from last night jogged up. He remembered spotting Yunho and his friends in the bar. He also vaguely remembered Yunho asking if he could drive him home and taking his car keys from him. But that was the end of it, everything else was a black-out. Maybe, he had passed out after that and Yunho had to take him to his home instead ? This did seem like Yunho’s house. Changmin felt absolutely parched so he picked up the glass and started taking small sips of the water. As he kept drinking, he started getting worked up about how stupid and irresponsible he was, literally anything could have happened to him, yesterday. He had put himself in a lot of danger and he definitely knew better! How could he be so dumb!

 

A soft knock interrupted his misery.

“Yes”, replied Changmin anxiously.

“Changmin, it’s me, Yunho. May I come in”, asked Yunho from behind the door, the same soft timbre that Changmin had heard in his dreams.

Changmin pulled his hair in frustration, “Of course, this is your house”, he shot back.

Yunho half opened the door and walked in. He seemed to be carrying some clothes in his hands which he placed on the end table. He had a towel wrapped around his neck and was profusely sweating, Changmin could tell because his scent was too strong. His arms looked pumped, the Alpha was definitely sweating it out in the gym before coming here. Changmin’s stomach did a flip as he took in the Alpha’s form. The dream Yunho, as seductive he was, didn’t hold a candle to the real thing. Ashamed of his prior dream, he couldn’t look at Yunho and consciously tried to wrap the robe tighter around himself.

Yunho was ready to give the Omega a piece of his mind but he looked so miserable and conscious, not even meeting his eyes, he decided to push ‘the talk’ to later when Changmin was in a better condition.

“How are you feeling”, he asked Yunho kindly.

There were so many emotions he was feeling. Shame, Confusion, Disappointment and Anger.

But he blurted out, “Weird” in response.

Yunho looked a little worried and moved towards the nightstand, “I have got some pills, here for nausea. You should lie down if you aren’t feeling well”, he added fussing around with the pillows. Changmin put a hand on the Alpha’s hand to halt him.

“No, I am fine. Just weird, waking up here”, said Changmin gesturing at the room.

“Oh”, replied Yunho, understanding dawning on him.

Changmin felt conscious of his hand still resting atop Yunho’s even though Yunho hadn’t indicated anything. He retracted his hand and moved sideways to make space for Yunho on the bed.

Yunho looked dumbfounded as Changmin waited for him to sit down.

Changmin gestured at the bed and said, “You don’t have to keep standing”.

“Yeah, right”, muttered Yunho as he dropped beside Changmin.

“Woah, your eyes are so puffy”, remarked Yunho as he came face to face with Changmin.

“I know, they must look scary”, said Changmin with a rueful chuckle.

“No, they are still very beautiful, like Bambi’s”, Yunho added feverently.

Anyone else, Changmin would have just scoffed it off. But the way Yunho had complimented him with utmost sincerity, looking at him earnestly, it made Changmin get butterflies in his stomach. Changmin looked away to hide his blush and started fiddling around with his ties. He heard Yunho clear his throat.

“I don’t know how much you remember but you were drinking yesterday, I was coincidentally there with my friends when I saw you. Later, you were stumbling to your car, I offered to drive you home. But by the time we got in your car, you were out, cold. I tried to wake you up but that didn’t work out”.

Changmin winced at the whole story and added meekly, “Sorry, I am a heavy sleeper”

Yunho nodded agreeing with Changmin’s statement and said, “I figured, I didn’t know where you lived so I drove us back to my home instead”

Changmin pressed his lips into a thin line as he felt hot with embarrassment, he tried to find the right words but nothing seemed to come out.

Thankfully, Yunho continued the conversation before the silence between them turned weird.

“Just to be clear, nothing happened between us. I carried you home. Then, you took off your clothes, I guess you were feeling uncomfortable in them. I just helped you put on the robe and left you to sleep it off”, said Yunho earnestly.

Changmin turned to look at Yunho, he looked back at Changmin with such gravitas and concern, to convey his sincerity that Changmin felt a little soothed. Even with all his cynicism, he found himself believing Yunho’s words.

He bowed his head a bit and said “Thank you”

The bow made Yunho uncomfortable, he quickly said, “It's not that big of a deal. Any decent person would have done that”

“Still, thank you for not leaving me to my own devices”, insisted Changmin even though Yunho had tried to make light of his gesture.

It was an even bigger gesture from Yunho’s side when Changmin considered how their last conversation had ended. Changmin had flipped off Yunho in not so many words. But here he was, still concerned about Changmin’s safety. He definitely was one of the better people that Changmin had come across, anyone would be lucky to become his partner.

Yunho internally debated whether he should say what was in his mind because it would most likely offend the Omega. However, he was far too worried about Changmin ending up in a similar situation and not have anyone to turn to.

“I am not entirely aware of what is going on with you but...”. Yunho paused trying to form his next sentence carefully.

Changmin looked at him a little alarmed, he had attempted a good poker face but his eyes gave him away.

“If you ever find yourself in situations like this, you can call me. I wouldn’t think any differently of you”, said Yunho carefully.

Changmin wanted to roll his eyes at the Alpha’s self contradiction. Yunho already did think of Changmin as a pitiable, friendless person, why else would he offer something like that.

Everything he did was born out of pity on this poor, helpless Omega! But rather than feeling angered, Changmin just felt hollow because that was a fact. He had indeed been reduced to a poor and hapless Omega by his circumstances.

“You, alright”, Yunho’s voice jerked Changmin out of his thoughts.

It was a loaded question which Changmin didn't know how to answer. No, he wasn't alright, why would he be going on drinking binges otherwise? But he didn't want to get into it, especially with someone like Yunho, who was just being kind to him, but in every way that mattered, he truly was a stranger to Changmin. He wasn't sure he could lie that he was fine without choking up a bit.

“Rest up some more. I am going to hop in the shower real quick and then I can get us some breakfast”, said Yunho after a moment of silence passed between them.

The Alpha was perceptive, which Changmin appreciated. However, the offer for breakfast seemed like a bit too much of an imposition after every thing Yunho had done for him.

“That’s not necessary. You have already done so much”, said Changmin in lieu of a polite declination.

“Breakfast is not a big deal. Besides, I am hungry too”, waved off Yunho getting up from the bed.

Changmin wanted to argue about it but Yunho was heading towards the door. Yunho stopped by the door when his eyes fell on the clothes he had placed on the end table.

He turned back and sheepishly confessed, “Umm... I kind of forgot to throw your wet clothes in the washer”

That instinctually ticked off the neat freak in Changmin a bit but he hoped that his face didn’t give it away. After all, Yunho had no obligations towards him but he had done his best to make Changmin comfortable.

Yunho could see the little wince that Changmin tried to hide valiantly. Yunho would be the first one to admit his tardiness, he really didn’t pay attention to anything besides his work, therefore he had house-help, an elderly Beta lady who came around twice a week to pick up after him. Besides, last night he was mostly concentrated on willing his inappropriate erection away while taking a very frigid shower. He had passed out on the bed after that, everything else was far away from his mind.

Yunho picked up the clothes to stop himself from thinking about it.

“I got you some of my clothes instead. They should fit you. I don’t know if they are your style. I can find something else, if they aren’t”, he said inching towards the bed once again.

“That’s fine. Thank you so much”, said Changmin taking the clothes and frowning slightly at the pink hoodie included in it.

Yunho could see that Changmin had some opinions regarding the clothes he had picked but he didn't voice them so Yunho took that as a win. Besides, Yunho had invested far too much time in choosing the hoodie, he owned several of them, street style fashion was his thing. Ultimately, he had thought that pale pink went well with the Changmin skin tone and had chosen that one.

But if he was being completely honest, he thought Changmin would look good in anything. Even now bleary-eyed, hair askew, hint of a 5 o’clock shadow and dressed shabbily in a robe, he still looked painfully attractive to Yunho. Yunho started retreating towards his room before he could think too much about it.

“Yunho-ssi”, he heard as he stopped in his tracks and turned towards the Omega was looking down, pressing his lips into a thin line.

“I am sorry”, Changmin said quietly, meeting Yunho’s eyes.

Yunho was dumbfounded, of all the things he had expected, an apology wasn’t one of them. Yunho had always seen Changmin as a prideful person, too stubborn to admit his own faults and too fast to dismiss others. He had expected some anger and resentment from the Omega warning him to stop meddling in his life like he had already said the last time they had met. But he was surprised to encounter a grateful and apologetic Changmin. Somehow Changmin’s meek countenance didn’t please Yunho at all. He would rather have Changmin glaring at him than sitting defeated and troubled with downcast eyes. Maybe, Heechul was right, he was a sucker.

“Feel better, Changminah”, he wished genuinely.

Changmin immediately scrunched up his nose like he was going to object to the nickname but he held his tongue back. Yunho found that really endearing. He turned to hide his smile and subsequently walked out of the door.

Yunho’s penchant for nicknames was probably the biggest flaw that Changmin found in him. The Alpha would probably end up marrying someone who would find it endearing and even create obnoxiously sweet nicknames for him in return. Thankfully, Changmin was never going to be that person so he wouldn’t have to deal with the nickname after today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you did not see the smut coming.... hehehehe


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who dropped in a kind comment for this story! They are all very precious and make me smile after a hard day. Here's the new chapter. Happy Weekend, everyone!

Changmin quickly washed up and changed into the clothes that Yunho had so kindly provided. When Changmin sniffed them, they seemed to have a strong scent of detergent. He had immediately appreciated that Yunho had been thoughtful enough to pick freshly laundered ones for him. 

 

The hoodie was a little baggy on him so he had to pinch and roll up the sleeves. The basketball shorts were comfortable and not too short on him. Hoodies were not really his style, he didn’t own any outside of his workout clothes. However, he would have to admit, this one was really cozy, made him feel like he was wrapped in a cloud. He glanced at the mirror for a quick check. He looked decent except his hair was a mess, it was sticking up in every direction. There was nothing he could do about it so he covered his head with the hood hoping that static would flatten out his hair. He stepped into a pair of fluffy strawberry slippers.  Changmin unconsciously smiled at the slippers, they were so cute!

 

Changmin’s stomach growled, he really needed some sustenance. He ventured out of his room. He found himself in the living room, it was a normal one, had couches ,a big television and a table. Perfectly normal, except for the chaos. Coat and tie carelessly strewn around the couch, newspaper left half opened on the table and worst of it, a mug which seemed to have been sitting on the table for a few days. Changmin itched to tidy up the whole room but valiantly resisted. He reasoned with himself, this wasn’t his house, he didn’t know Yunho that well to start touching his stuff, plus he was hungry so he should just move along towards the kitchen.

 

He was still rooted to his spot after all those perfectly valid reasonings. Fuck it, he would just fix the table, he didn’t have OCD but gosh did this place need some cleaning!  He marched towards the table and neatly folded the newspaper. He then picked up the mug. He glanced towards the wall and saw it covered with photos.

 

Changmin got distracted and walked towards it to get a closer look at the pictures. A lot of them featured Yunho with what he would guess would be his family. He saw an elderly couple, he deduced they were his parents. And another girl who had the same eyes as Yunho appearing beside them, he guessed she was Yunho’s sister. There were some pictures with Yunho’s lawyer and another guy, they all looked very young in it. Changmin deduced that Yunho and his lawyer probably went way back and were close.

 

However, he did not find the woman he had seen in the picture frame back in the guest room in any of the pictures. Yunho surprisingly had a lot of solo pictures, a bit conceited but each man to his own, Changmin thought. There was a particular one where Yunho was wearing earrings ,a leather jacket and his hair up that made Changmin stop in his tracks. Hot Damn! Who knew Jung Yunho who was a perfect embodiment of a ‘Church Oppa’ could also pull off a look like this ? Apparently, Changmin’s subconscious mind had seen the potential and had Yunho sex him up in his dreams. Fuck, fuck, what the heck was he thinking, he must still be hungover!

Without further ado, he fled in the direction of the kitchen. He put the mug in the sink and filled it with water. He stood there for a bit mindlessly staring at the sink. 

“Changmin”, Yunho’s voice startled Changmin.

He turned in the direction of the voice. Changmin’s eyes widened a bit as he took in a half-wet Yunho dressed only in a lowly slung towel.

“You look cute”, remarked Yunho with an appreciative once-over.

Taking in Changmin’s wide eyes, Yunho first thought of how they were bigger than the eyes of the Bambi plush toy he owned. Then his conscious mind kicked in, the reason for his wide eyes was probably Yunho’s unexplained state of undress.

Yunho hurriedly launched into an explanation hoping he wasn’t blushing,

“I just hopped out of shower when I heard the wash cycle complete. So, I rushed to transfer your clothes out to the dryer. I didn’t expect you to be out and about”

Changmin averted his eyes and muttered, “I was hungry”.

Yunho felt flustered, he hoped he had some food at home. Usually, he went out for his weekends and always had meals at his office for weekdays. He barely cooked and hence didn’t really buy much when he did hit the groceries.

He immediately marched towards the refrigerator hoping that he at least had some non-expired milk. Thankfully, he did find some. He then riffled through the cupboards to see what else he had. 

Changmin was heavily distracted by something that kept flopping around as Yunho moved about his kitchen. What the heck was Yunho hiding under his towel. That thing was massive! Changmin didn’t want to imagine how monstrous it would be fully erect. He had only seen such huge cocks in porn, which he always figured had camera play involved in making it look bigger than it actually was. But man, talk about well-endowed! 

He belatedly realized that Yunho was saying something about breakfast so he caught only bits and pieces of it, “... so feel free to take anything”. 

Changmin’s addled brain interpreted that bit as something very suggestive. 

“Okay”, Changmin replied more to Yunho’s crotch than Yunho’s face.

 

Yunho was flustered by the Omega’s unwavering stare at his crotch. He wanted to cover it with his hands but he didn’t want to call Changmin out on it and make both of them conscious and awkward. So, he decided to deal with it like an adult, anyway he had nothing to be ashamed of in that department anyway. So, he took it in his stride and retreated in a perfectly normally pace towards his room rather than running away like his hind brain was screaming for him to.

Once Yunho’s crotch was away from view, it felt like a spell had been lifted off of Changmin. He realized he had acted like a pervert. Eyeing the man who was so kind to him like a piece of meat! Changmin wanted to brain himself repeatedly on the wall. This was the most embarrassing day of his life, he hoped he never saw Yunho after today.

 

* * *

Changmin covered the plate with Pancakes and Omelette that he had set aside for Yunho. After pulling himself out of his embarrassment, Changmin had decided to cook Yunho some breakfast as an apology. Thankfully, he found a pancake mix ,some eggs and cheese. He went about making breakfast for both of them. He was devastated to not find any coffee but beggars couldn’t be choosers.

After he had scarfed down his own share of the breakfast, he decided to clean up. That was the least he could do after Yunho’s hospitality. He moved towards the sink, where he had already put the dirty utensils. When looked around for the dish-washing sponge scrub, he found a strawberry shaped one. Changmin held it in his hands and couldn’t control his smile, it would be a pity to use it.

Suddenly, Changmin’s cell-phone went off. Changmin placed the scrub back and hurried towards the dining table to check his phone. 

‘Manager-nim Taemin’ flashed on the screen. 

Lee Taemin worked as Changmin’s editor and manager. When Changmin’s long-time editor had retired from the company, there was a period where he didn’t like anyone they had stuck him with. They all fell into the extremes of the spectrum. Either they wanted to have too much of a say in Changmin’s writing or were too afraid to give their honest opinion on Changmin’s works.

He had chanced upon Taemin when he was filling in for his editor, who was out of office. Taemin was merely 23 years old, fresh out of college after his Masters degree with little experience. Changmin was running on very little sleep and energy as he was working to meet the deadline on the next book for his most famous and multiple award winning children’s book series, ‘Moonchild’.

Contrary to his expectations, Taemin had brought him food and insisted that Changmin eat rather than prioritize work. The Bibimbap that Taemin had brought over was probably the best that Changmin had ever had but his hunger might have influenced his judgement at that time. After that, when they had discussed his book, Taemin had been nervous but was respectfully able to state his honest opinion on the corrections that Changmin had made.

Taemin’s countenance had made the whole book release process so much more tolerable for Changmin that he had decided to keep Taemin on as his editor instead of the people his company kept throwing at him. Well, it was mostly because of the fact that Taemin brought food with himself during their meetings but the management didn’t need to know the real reason behind why their star writer had chosen the most inexperienced editor they had to offer.

Taemin had been working with him for 3 years now. Taemin pretty much knew everything about Changmin’s personal life. How he was the Duke’s son, how he used a pen name for his works, how he never revealed himself to the media even after winning the awards because he didn’t want people to be prejudiced by the fact that he was royalty and also that he had been secretly dating Kyuhyun since Grad school.

In turn, Changmin came to know that Taemin was a real ‘kid’. The guy didn’t drink, struggled to cook even instant noodles for himself and the real reason why he had food with himself every time was because his friend was always buying him food in the fear that Taemin might starve. The so-called friend was Kim Jongin, who was incidentally the son of the CEO of the company Changmin worked for. Jongin worked in their Finance and Marketing department and was almost always attached to Taemin. Changmin still didn’t know why Taemin insisted that Jongin and him were just friends, apparently from middle school. It was very obvious that they were more than that but Changmin knew not to go poking into other people’s business.

As a Hyung, Changmin took it upon himself to feed Taemin home cooked meal because the kid wasn’t having any, apparently Jongin himself wasn’t much of a cook either. However, it was undeniable that Taemin’s presence had made his work life so much better since his long-time editor had retired and he would always be grateful for that.

Taemin had left him some messages last night. Changmin had seen the messages come in but hadn’t read them. He was busy wallowing in self-pity. Now, he figured that he must have worried Taemin because he has never ignored his messages before.

 

“Hello”, Changmin answered picking up the phone.

“Oh Hyung! I was getting worried”, he heard a relieved Taemin.

“Sorry, I didn’t get back to you yesterday. I was out drinking”, said Changmin as he balanced the phone between his ear and his shoulder to free up his hands so that he could was the dishes.

“So, you are at home now, right ? Should I get some breakfast on my way there? Or are you too busy to meet today”, asked Taemin.

“I am not exactly at home”, replied Changmin sheepishly as he scrubbed the frying pan.

“That’s a surprise. Usually, when you go out to drink, you don’t even leave your home the next day", Taemin remarked curiously.

“I didn’t make it home, last night”, said Changmin wincing a bit.

Taemin was quiet for a few seconds and then he asked, “Are you with Kyu Hyung”

That made Changmin pause a bit. “No. I am with someone else, you don’t know him”, he said as squeezed the strawberry sponge.

Changmin could hear Taemin’s breaths on the other line as if he was carefully choosing his next words.

“And, are you ok? Do you want me to come pick you up”, asked Taemin, concerned.

“I am fine. Listen, let’s have lunch at my place, today. That ok with you”, asked Changmin finishing up drying the dishes.

“Yeah. Is there something you want to eat”, asked Taemin tentatively.

“Meat”, Changmin replied nonchalantly setting the clean dishes on the rack.

“Jongin took me to a new restaurant this week. I will pick up something from there”, said Taemin rather than sassing out Changmin for being vague. This is exactly why Changmin appreciated Taemin!

Changmin hung up after they had said their goodbyes.

 

“Oppa”, the shout startled Changmin badly, he nearly dropped his phone. He turned around to see a woman looking at him, quite surprised if her wide eyes were any indication.

“Uhh...”, Changmin started to say something but his mind went blank and he struggled to say anything.

The woman looked a little embarrassed and said, “Sorry, I didn’t know Oppa had company”

Changmin guessed that the woman was Yunho’s sister, pieced together from his memory when he was looking at family pictures. He was about to say that she had nothing to apologize for when he heard another voice.

“Jihye, don’t shout, he does have neighbors here. Seriously, how old are you”

An elderly lady joined them in the kitchen, she looked pretty dumbfounded when she saw Changmin. Changmin just knew, that she had to be Yunho’s mother. Oh boy, looked like Yunho’s wish for the meet and greet with his parents had come true. Except, it was a bit too soon for anyone’s liking.

“Hello”, Changmin greeted both of them with a 90 degree bow, a reflex when he encountered older people.

“Hello”, Yunho’s mother acknowledged him with a nod and a tight smile. Yunho’s sister bowed back awkwardly.

“Yunho-ssi is in the bathroom”, said Changmin awkwardly pointing in the direction of Yunho’s room. How long did the man shower? It was about time he showed up! Changmin was thinking about how he would introduce himself. He wasn’t really Yunho’s friend or anything. Saying that he was once a prospective son-in-law would be a disaster.

“I am Changmin. And, I am sorry for imposing”, Changmin said without expanding on how he knew Yunho.

“No, you don’t have to apologize for anything. You are Yunho’s guest”, said Yunho’s mother kindly.

“Oh, I thought I heard Jihye”, a heavily satoori-accented voice interrupted. Thankfully, Yunho had emerged from his room. Changmin was so relieved, he almost wanted to collapse on the dining chair.

“Omma”, he exclaimed as he stepped into the kitchen and immediately engulfed her in a big hug.

He swayed her side by side, as she patted his back, her eyes lighting up. Changmin felt like he was intruding a private moment. Yunho then hugged his sister who patted his butt in response.

After a while, Yunho seemed to remember that Changmin was also there so he turned towards him and said, “This is Changmin”

Changmin bowed once again in lieu of greeting.

“He...”, Changmin could see Yunho was struggling with an explanation of his relation with him.

“Actually, I was just leaving”, cut in Changmin.

“What about breakfast”, asked Yunho surprised.

“I made myself some breakfast from your things”, replied Changmin pointing in the direction of the cupboards. 

He had planned on telling Yunho about the share he had made for him but now with his family looking on, it would just be too weird to say that.  

“Oh, I will get your clothes then, they should have dried by now” said Yunho casually.

Changmin could see Yunho’s mothers’ and sister’s eyes widen a bit at that sentence. Yunho seemed to remain aloof about the whole thing. Changmin on the other hand, just wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear. 

“Omma, I am just going to see Changminnie to the door and comeback. This is such a good surprise”, Yunho said excitedly and hugged his mother once again.

Changmin tried not to frown at yet another nickname that Yunho had whipped up for him.

Yunho turned to Changmin and said, “I will get a bag for your clothes”.

“There’s no need. I can just change into them”, insisted Changmin, he couldn’t possibly take Yunho’s clothes, the ones he was currently wearing, with him.

“Your clothes are dried but they aren’t pressed. You can’t wear them”, stated Yunho confused.

“That’s fine. I am going home, anyway”, explained Changmin with a shrug. Yunho’s eyes narrowed at his response. He glanced towards his mother and sister and then softly pulled Changmin by his arm a little farther. Changmin was a little worried by Yunho’s reaction.

Yunho whispered, “Yah, do you hate my clothes that much”

“No, that’s not what I meant”, Changmin was quick to defend in a hushed tone.

“‘Cause we can go through my wardrobe,  I am sure we can find something for you”, continued Yunho ignoring Changmin’s protest.

“I do like these clothes, it’s just that I feel like it would be too much of an imposition to borrow them from you”, argued Changmin.

Yunho gave an incredulous chuckle, “Why? These are just casual clothes not like these are high-end designer brands or something”.

Changmin couldn’t help but glance towards Yunho’s mother and sister who were silent spectators to their argument. Yunho’s sister seemed very amused but Yunho’s mother seemed slightly concerned. Gosh, this must be looking all wrong to them. It was better for him to make a quick exit.

So, he cut short his argument Yunho and said, “Fine, I am wearing these home. Could we just stop arguing, now”.

“You are the one who started it”, retorted Yunho, still whispering.

“Yes, that was my mistake. Now, can you get me a bag for my clothes, please”, asked Changmin patronizingly.

“Sweet talking isn’t your strong suit, I see”, remarked Yunho sarcastically. Changmin glared at him.

“Glaring on the other hand, you’ve perfected it”, said Yunho in a whisper as he turned towards his room. Changmin presumed that it was to fetch a bag. Left alone, Changmin gave an awkward smile to Yunho’s mother and sister. He quickly escaped towards the washing machine to avoid the situation getting any more awkward.

Soon, Yunho returned with a bag and found Changmin already folding his clothes.

“Hold the bag open”, instructed Changmin.

“Yes, your highness”, said Yunho suppressing a smile at Changmin’s natural bossiness. Changmin flipped his hair to glare at Yunho some more, this time coupled with a pout. Yunho didn’t want to admit but his heart did skip a few beats at that. He didn’t know that if that was the masochist in him but Changmin did look striking when he was angry.

Changmin put the neatly folded clothes in the bag and then took the bag from Yunho’s hands. Yunho then walked Changmin to the door, he paused to grab Changmin’s car keys. All the while, he surreptitiously admired Changmin’s legs in those shorts.

When they had reached Changmin’s car, the Omega hesitated a bit.

Changmin consciously pulled on the sleeves of the hoodie and said, “I will return them, tomorrow”.

“Drop them off at the office if you can, I am almost never home”, said Yunho pursing his lips, which Changmin found cute. However, the guilt soon kicked in as Changmin felt that he had stolen precious few moments that Yunho got to spend at home.

Yunho noticed Changmin’s change in expression, he looked pensive. Yunho almost wanted to ask him what was the matter because of his inherent impatience. But if he had learnt anything about the Omega in whatever little time he had spent with him, he knew better than to probe as it would only result in Changmin shutting him out completely. So, he waited for Changmin to say whatever he was gathering his thoughts for.

“I am sorry”, said Changmin quietly.

Yunho shook his head in response and was about to launch into why Changmin didn’t have to keep apologizing but Changmin continued, “Not just for yesterday, for everything. That day at your office, I was out of line. I was a bit sensitive and I over-reacted”.

Yunho was dumbfounded, he would have never expected the Omega to bring up their last argument much less apologize for it.

Changmin took a deep breath and continued, “It isn’t unreasonable to seek your family’s acceptance for your marriage. And I am sure whoever you end up deciding to marry would be liked by your family as well. I just want you to know that I appreciate everything you have done for me. Even if it didn’t work out for us, I am still grateful that you honored all of my terms in the contract that was drawn up”

Yunho dearly wanted to say something soothing when Changmin met his eyes but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out the right words. It was like everything he had assumed about the Omega, had been thrown out of the window. He had been expecting a terse greeting and probably residual anger from the rehashing of the events at his office, because to be honest, Yunho hadn’t been exactly nice to Changmin either. However, the Omega had surprised him with the calm and mature manner in which is had addressed the whole matter.

When the silence between them stretched a bit too long, Changmin broke it.

“Bye”, he said with a polite nod of head. Yunho automatically nodded in response. Changmin then drove away in his car leaving a solemn Yunho behind.

 

* * *

“So, that was interesting”, Jihye remarked tentatively as Yunho re-entered the kitchen where both Jihye and his mother were sitting on the dining chairs.

Yunho slightly smirked at his sister’s attempt at prying, “Not more than you showing up here all of a sudden”

“Why? Can we not visit when we want”, suddenly Yunho’s mother cut in.

Yunho immediately felt defensive and he replied, “Of course, you can. That’s why you have the keys”

“I hope your friend didn’t mind much. I don’t think you have ever mentioned him before”, his mother pressed on.

“He is not exactly a friend, more of an acquaintance. He had a bit too much to drink so I asked him to rest up here”, said Yunho as nonchalantly as possible but it probably didn’t come across as that because both the ladies were still eyeing him suspiciously.

“So, how did you meet him”, asked Jihye with a smirk. Yunho wanted to tell her to shut up but clearly his mother was as curious of the answer as her.

“We just met at one of the parties briefly. He is the Duke’s son”, answered Yunho with a straight face.

“Daebak! We were in presence of a royalty”, exclaimed Jihye with wide eyes. Yunho just shrugged and went to get the milk bottle out, to fix himself some cereal.

“When we came here, we had honestly expected to find a totally different royal”, Jihye added with barely suppressed amusement. Yunho paused and turned to look at both the ladies.

“Don’t act so surprised! I have got neighbors congratulating me on becoming Go Ara’s mother in law”, his mother egged on.

“All of those are just false rumors”, cried Yunho indignantly.

“Oh, we can see that now. Poor Grandma and Grandpa! They had already given their blessings to you and Ara”, remarked Jihye, enjoying the whole situation too much.

“What”, exclaimed Yunho incredulously.

“Well, you haven’t really said anything about it. What were we supposed to think”, asked his mother nonplussed.

Yunho pinched the bridge of his nose, he had never thought that the whole media play on his and Ara’s relationship had reached his family too. He wondered if he should call Ara and her family to apologize for this whole mess. He quietly reached out for a packet of Lucky Charms.

“Oppa”, Jihye’s voice interrupted Yunho’s train of thought.

“Yeah”, he responded turning to her.

“Do you really choose to eat cereal over the nice breakfast that your Changminnie made for you”, said Jihye teasingly as she lifted the cover from a plate on the table to reveal omelette and pancakes that were decorated with whipped cream.

Yunho was dumbfounded for the second time, that morning, which was quite a feat because he usually never shut up. He put the cereal box back and inched towards the dining table, his mouth slightly open.

“If not, I can have it instead”, said Jihye and pulled the plate towards herself. Yunho immediately stopped her by placing his hand on her wrist. Jihye glanced at her mother who had a judgemental look on her face.

Yunho pulled the plate back towards himself and took a seat. He was very surprised that Changmin had cooked for him. But why did he not tell him about it ? Perhaps, he got too shy to mention it. An unbidden smile slipped out as he say the smiley face that was drawn on the top of the stack with the whipped cream.

“The Duke’s son is very pretty”, stated Yunho’s mother conversationally.

Jihye joined in enthusiastically, “And taller than Oppa, that’s rare to see. His eyes are huge and pretty”

“Like Bambi”, automatically came out of Yunho’s mouth as he was devouring the pancakes. His mother eyed him a bit suspiciously while Yunho was oblivious.

“What does he do for a living”, she asked.

“He...”, Yunho paused as he realised that he had never asked Changmin about it. Now that he thought about it, he had practically no knowledge about Changmin’s personal life (except for the family issues) and he had proposed to him. He was starting to understand Changmin’s hesitance in believing the credibility of his proposal. He barely knew the guy yet he was considering marrying him. It really isn’t like him to be that superficial, to be so blinded by Changmin’s title that he didn’t even consider the person behind the title. He knew he wouldn’t be building his marriage out of love but what kind of a relationship did he want with his spouse? How much of a distance did he want to keep?

“Yunho”, his mother called for his attention, still expecting an answer.

“He probably works with his father in the business side of things. I am not sure”, said Yunho sheepishly stuffing himself with more food so he wouldn’t have to answer any more questions. He could feel the judgemental stares from both the ladies.


	6. Chapter Six

Taemin sat in silence trying to process everything Changmin had told him. Changmin quietly began clearing out their dishes. He had told everything about his breakup with Kyuhyun, his mother’s health and that he would end up marrying pretty soon.

“I am sorry but there is one thing I still don’t understand”, said Taemin tentatively after a while.

“What”, asked Changmin putting the dirty dishes in the sink.

“Why aren’t you considering Jung Yunho”, asked Taemin scrunching his nose as if not sure if he has overstepped.

Changmin sighed and walked back to take his seat on the couch beside Taemin. 

“He wants me to pretend that this is just an arranged marriage proposal in front his parents and get their approval”, repeated Changmin lying back on the couch.

“No, I get that. But, I don’t see why that should be a problem”, Taemin asked confused.

Changmin narrowed his eyes doubting why Taemin was being so obtuse and said, “Sure, like his parents aren’t totally going to see through the fact that I am not with their son for his winning personality”

“It’s an arrangement. Surely, it’s different from being judged when you’ve been dating someone”, reasoned Taemin.

Changmin eyed him skeptically. Taemin sighed and then turned to face Changmin.

He asked,“You are pretty, respectable and polite. Why wouldn’t anyone approve of you”

Changmin just rolled his eyes in response and turned away from Taemin.

“You know what, you are starting to sound a lot like Jung Yunho”, said Changmin somewhat miffed.

“Just be honest, do you actually see the whole thing going nowhere or are you just pissed to be put up for evaluation”, coaxed Taemin. 

Changmin sometimes hated Taemin’s directness. He did hit the nail on its head though, being scrutinized is what pissed him off the most especially when Yunho was not being put under any kind of scrutiny by Changmin’s parents at all, as long as he had money, he was good enough.

“Honestly, both”, gritted out Changmin. Taemin immediately regretted pushing.

“I am sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. Either way, if it has gotten you so worked up then it’s good that you rejected it”, said Taemin apologetically.

Changmin didn’t really say anything in return but he nodded as a tacit acceptance. Taemin moved on to other topic at hand hoping to break the awkward silence that had descended upon them.

“There are requests for you from the Japanese publishing house for a fansign. I know you usually reject those but you said you were open to any offers now”, Taemin said whipping out his phone to find the relevant emails.

“Well, they are paying me, that’s good enough for now”, said Changmin lying back on the couch, lost in thought.

Changmin’s words stopped Taemin in his tracks. He dearly wanted to help Changmin out. The man had been taking on jobs he wouldn’t even listen about, before. For months, he had been looking tired and stressed, every time they had met, merely the shell of the enigmatic, yet warm person Taemin had come to know over the years.

Taemin was a mere editor, there was nothing he could do himself to help someone like Changmin out. But, it was still hard for him to watch Changmin go through all of this alone.  

“Hyung, stop me if I am overstepping. But I can talk to Jongin about the money issue”, he asked cautiously knowing Changmin’s pride and how he could take this the wrong way.

“He can’t help me. Nobody can”, Changmin replied with an air of finality, implying the end of discussion.

 

* * *

 

Changmin had gotten off the phone after having a long discussion with his publishers regarding the fan-meet in Tokyo. He usually wrote adult novels in Japan under the pseudonym ‘Chami’. The novels were very popular and he had received many requests from the publishing house to hold a fansign because his face was very marketable which they thought would make those books fly off faster from the shelves. That was the precise reason why Changmin had refused all of those requests. He wanted his work to speak for himself and not have it sell because of his face or worst, his royal status.

 

Now though, beggars couldn’t be choosers. He was trying to save his parent’s house from getting mortgaged on top of fielding the expenses of getting his mother started on the treatment. He would eventually not be paying for the bulk of the treatment once he got married but he couldn’t delay it any further because the whole marriage deal seemed to be a very lengthy process. So, he was taking on any job that was paying him, right now. And this fansign was going to get him an hefty amount.

Changmin noticed there was an unread message when he was about to put away his phone. He swiped on it curiously.

 

_ From Pabo: _

_Thank you for the breakfast! It was delicious_ 👍👍

 

He almost chuckled when he saw the word ‘Pabo’. He had saved Jung Yunho under the name out of spite. Granted, it was childish but it still tickled his funny bone. He was pleasantly surprised that Yunho had left a message about the breakfast he had made, even though Changmin was the one who had caused him troubles. He shook his head as he typed out a swift reply.

 

_ To Pabo: _

_Plz accept dat as my apology 4 dis morning. It wud hav been hard to explain everythng 2 ur family_ 🙈🙈

 

He put his phone down to get his laptop and check on his flight details for the fansign in Tokyo. When he came back to the couch, he noticed that he had gotten another message.

 

_ From Pabo: _

_It was a bit weird but that’s fine. My sister had some of the pancakes, she liked it a lot._ 👍 _Mom thought you were pretty_

 

Changmin felt his ears heat up in embarrassment reading the message. He didn’t quite know how to reply to it. He still ended up typing out a response.

 

_ To Pabo: _

_Aigoo...they are very kind_ 🙈🙈

 

He debated if it was better to reply with just a stoic ‘thanks’ instead. Yeah, he definitely overdid it with the emoji and the exclamation, it made him sound like a blushing teenager. He went to delete it but he accidentally tapped on the ‘send’ icon. Stupid, touch pads! He dropped his phone like he had just been scalded by it. Hopefully, Yunho thought that Changmin was drunk or something and ignore it.

But, he wasn’t that lucky because sure enough there was another buzz. Changmin sighed and retrieved his phone to check.

 

_ From Pabo: _

_ They are. But, they meant everything they said about you _

 

Changmin couldn’t help but feel a little touched. A carelessly thrown in compliment was always easier to handle than a genuine one. Since the latter was the case in here, Changmin just couldn’t come up with a proper reply. He thought of just calling it a night and let that be the end of the whole conversation with the Alpha.

However, another message came in. Wow, Yunho was feeling really chatty tonight! He tapped on the new message to read it.

 

_ From Pabo: _

_ Will you be visiting my office anytime soon ? _

 

Changmin’s eyes grew wider as he realized that he was still wearing Yunho’s hoodie. Damn, he was supposed to have it washed so that he could return it. Changmin let out a low whine and stretched out on his couch. It’s just that the hoodie was so warm, comfy and fluffy, he would loath to part from it. It sounded childish to his own ears but damn, it was just so perfect for him. Keeping him warm but not too warm, the material so soft that he felt like he was swaddled in cocoon of cloud. Would Yunho really miss one measly hoodie ?

Changmin tsked with a bit of frustration with the fact that he would have to be an adult and hand back  whatever he had borrowed. He realized that he probably left Yunho on read for a long time and typed out a reply.

 

_To Pabo:_

_ Tmrw. I can drop off ur thngs wid ur assistant if u r busy the whole day _

 

With that, he inched towards his laptop and started looking online for the exact hoodie that he was wearing. Another buzz came from his phone, Changmin was expecting this one. Probably, Yunho replying with a swift ‘ok’ or ‘thank you’.

 

_ From Pabo: _

_ Could you come in around 1-2pm ? I would like to talk to you _

 

What? Why? Surely, they don’t have anything that needs to be discussed or addressed. Just the word ‘talk’ in the Alpha’s message gave off a vaguely ominous vibe to Changmin. Rather than convey all the tumultuous thoughts running amuck in his head, he fired off a cool ‘ok’ instead.

 

_ To Pabo: _

_ K _

 

Changmin’s mood soured quickly. He shut off his laptop and decided to get a drink to soothe his nerves. As he got up from the couch, his phone vibrated one more time. Changmin swiped it to read Yunho’s text.

 

_From Pabo:_

_Thanks! I will let my assistant know, she will let you through_ 👍 

 

Changmin debated if he should just call Yunho and ask him what he wanted to talk about. And, what could the matter be that he wants to discuss face to face rather than call him or text him about it. He should just do it since the whole thing was making him anxious. His thumb hovered over Yunho’s number waiting to gather his thoughts and courage to press the ‘Call’ button and get into a confrontation.

Another buzz startled him a bit. He had thought that Yunho had ended the conversation

 

_ From Pabo: _

_ Good Night, Changdolla  _

 

Changmin frowned at another new nickname that Yunho had come up with. He absently wondered if he had ended up marrying the Alpha, if Yunho would have settled on a single nickname or would have just created numerous others to piss him off further. Changmin’s eyes fell on the pile of files with new proposals that Leeteuk had forwarded to him. The reality hit him a little hard that he would never get to find out. He decided not to give Yunho a call.

“Goodnight”, he whispered in reply to the text but never texted back.

He finally decided to move to his bed, he suddenly felt drained. As he got up, he accidentally knocked over the new proposals. And that was when he saw a familiar face peeking out of it.

“For fuck’s sake”, he cursed as he pulled Kim Jongin’s profile from the pile.

 

* * *

Next day saw Changmin knocking on Jongin’s office door.

“Come in”, he heard before he stepped in and close the door with more force than necessary.

“Hyung”, said Jongin bewildered as he stood up from his ergonomic chair.

“Sit”, Changmin ordered as he dropped a file on Jongin’s desk. Jongin was still pretty confused but did what he was told to.

“Tell me one thing, how long have you wanted to marry me”, asked Changmin pulling a scorching glare at the young Alpha.

Jongin looked genuinely confused, his face twisted in confusion, mouth half-open as if trying to figure out if he heard everything right.

“Hyung, you are getting married”, Jongin asked surprised.

Changmin lost his patience. He pushed the file towards Jongin and dropped on the chair opposite to Jongin.

Jongin handled the file as if it was going to scald him. Changmin could see the growing horror on the young Alpha’s face as he progressed through the pages.

“I have never sent out something like this. Who did this”, exclaimed Jongin turning the file over as if that would give him some answers.

Changmin relaxed a bit, thank goodness for small mercies! He would have been so pissed if Jongin did actually send him a proposal, especially when he has been with Taemin for as long as Changmin could remember.

“My guess would be someone who has the authority to make decisions about your life”, Changmin helpfully supplied.

“Dad ? But he would at least discuss with me before...”, Jongin trailed off as he saw Changmin slowly shaking his head.

“Well then, I hope you figure it out soon. I sincerely doubt that I am the only one who got your profile”, said Changmin getting up from his chair.

“Does Taemin know about this”, asked Jongin worried.

“No, would you like me to break it to him”, asked Changmin sarcastically.

Jongin looked so miserable at the taunt that Changmin felt slightly guilty.

“Anyway, it’s for the best that he hears it from you. I won’t interfere in anyway”, said Changmin before he strode out of Jongin’s room leaving the dejected Alpha behind.

 

* * *

Yunho was trying to get through his paperwork before his upcoming business trip to Tokyo. He glanced at the antique clock on his desk, it read 1:35 pm. There was still no sign of the Omega. Yunho really hoped to talk to him before he left.

_ “You do know that Grandpa and Grandma will try to introduce you to a prospective bride if you don’t turn up with someone to their anniversary, right”, asked Jihye skeptically, while Yunho and her were waiting for their mother to pick out the correct jewellery as a gift for their grandparents anniversary. _

_ “Suddenly ? But, they have stayed out of matchmaking for so long”, asked Yunho perplexed. _

_ “Things have changed. First, everyone was giving you a wide berth because of ... you know...”, Jihye trailed off, hinting at Yunho’s breakup. _

_ “Don’t tell me, this is because of all the gossip about me and Ara”, Yunho grumbled in disappointment. _

_ “We were all hoping that the rumours were true. And if not, they decided to introduce you to someone, ‘coz they think that it’s high time that you moved on”, said Jihye regretfully.  _

_ Yunho didn’t reply instead he sat there deep in thought. _

_ “Sorry, Oppa. I wasn’t supposed to tell you anything”, apologized Jihye. _

_ “No, thanks for telling me anyway”, said Yunho with a rueful smile. _

_ After few moments of silence passed between them, Jihye asked tentatively, _

_ “So... will Changmin-ssi attend the anniversary party” _

_ “I don’t know”, replied Yunho honestly. _

 

A knock interrupted his thoughts. 

“Yes”, responded Yunho. 

The door opened a sliver and Changmin stuck his head out of it. 

“You are not busy, are you”, he asked with his wide doe eyes. 

An unbidden smile escaped from Yunho’s lips, he had to admit, he definitely had a thing for Changmin’s eyes. 

“Nope. Come in”, said Yunho shutting the file he was working on.

Changmin stepped in cautiously with a paper bag, a little pout adorning his lips. He walked gingerly towards Yunho’s desk.

“You can leave the bag on the table”, gestured Yunho when Changmin reached his desk. 

Changmin obeyed but once he set it down, he pushed the bag a bit in Yunho’s direction and said, “I want you to open it”

Yunho was a bit confused by the request (well, maybe more of an order the way Changmin had delivered it) so he asked,

“Why ? I already know what my clothes look like”

“Just do it”, said Changmin impatiently thrusting the bag onto Yunho’s lap. Yunho suspiciously reached into the bag and pulled out whatever was on top of it.

“Ah...”, the Alpha trailed confused when a brand new yellow hoodie came out instead of his good ole’ pink one.

“I put your hoodie in the washer to clean but it got caught in the agitator and got torn. I am sorry, I hope it wasn’t your favorite”, Changmin babbled nervously.

Lies, all of it. He couldn’t part with Yunho’s hoodie after all. So, he decided to buy him a newer, more expensive one and claim that the old one was tattered.

Yunho definitely wasn’t buying any of his bullshit, if his face was any indication.

Yunho didn’t look convinced but didn’t ask questions instead he said,

“The old one was from some cheap knock-off brand and worn. You didn’t have to buy me a new one”

Yunho was carelessly folding the hoodie when he noticed the PUMA logo.

“Wow, this is branded and expensive. Ahh... you really shouldn’t have”, grumbled Yunho begrudgingly.

“Well, I couldn’t just not give you anything”, Changmin defended himself.

He felt bit irked by Yunho’s careless handling of the hoodie. And no, it wasn’t because he was a neat freak or something, the new hoodie could get a crease the way Yunho had folded it!

“It’s pretty. Thank you”, relented Yunho with a small smile as he put the hoodie back in the bag.

Changmin couldn’t stop himself from pulling the hoodie back out once again to properly fold it. Yunho looked a bit puzzled when Changmin started smoothing out the hoodie and folding it up carefully.

“I tried to look for a pink one but didn’t find any. So, I picked what I thought would look good”, Changmin mindlessly chattered as he concentrated on his task.

Yunho was quite amused at the statement and asked,

“You think I look good in yellow”

Changmin looked like he was caught off guard by Yunho’s question. He put the hoodie back in the bag hastily and replied, 

“Well, it was either that or cyan. I doubt anyone can pull off cyan”

Yunho could clearly see that the Omega was flustered and decided to leave it at that.

“Fair point”, he acquiesced while Changmin stood awkwardly looking anywhere but at Yunho.

“Do you want to take a seat”, offered Yunho.

Shit, that meant that the ‘talk’ was going to be long, Changmin thought as he sat down in a surprisingly comfy chair.

“Are you still opposed to the idea of meeting my parents”, asked Yunho getting straight to the point.

Changmin’s eyes comically widened at that, “What”, he exclaimed.

“You heard me”, reiterated Yunho calmly taking Changmin’s surprise in his stride.

“Why does it matter”, asked Changmin confused.

“Because that is necessary if we are to get married”, added Yunho a bit patronizingly.

Yunho’s patronizing tone did tick Changmin off but he was too taken aback by the offer on the table to focus on that.

“You still want to”, asked Changmin tentatively.

Yunho replied with some gravity in his voice, 

“I have never said otherwise. You are the one who never gave me a proper answer. Would you still consider marrying me”

He was right, Changmin never did give him a definitive answer after blowing up at him. Later, he was far too annoyed and flustered to talk to the Alpha.

Yes, he was mostly pissed about being put up for evaluation. But, there was also the fact that he would never get a better proposal than Yunho’s. And, there was a big chance that it won’t work out for him. It was always much easier to be hopeless than be provided with some hope only to be shattered brutally. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to put himself through all of it.

So, he asked the question that plagued him the most,

“If your family doesn't approve of me, then what”

Yunho seemed to be a little taken aback by the question. He took a deep breath giving it some thought. The Alpha put his hands on his desk, entwined them and leaned forward with an almost apologetic expression.

“I... I wouldn't want to go against their wishes”, he said not meeting Changmin’s eyes.

There it was, plain and simple. Some things are always too good to be true. Frankly, Changmin couldn’t begrudge Yunho at all. The man clearly valued his family a lot. And, it would be hypocritical of Changmin to hate him for that when he himself is also compromising a lot for his own family.

“Understandable”, Changmin remarked, keeping all the emotions out of his voice.

Yunho pressed his lips into a thin line reflexively, trying not to feel like he had somehow let the Omega down. That was a dangerous emotion, they had no commitment, they didn’t owe each other anything at all.

“What did you tell your sister and mother about me”, asked Changmin suddenly looking at Yunho. Another question, Yunho hadn’t expected.

“I told them that you were an acquaintance”, he replied meeting Changmin’s eyes.

Changmin couldn't stop the snort that escaped at that statement.

“We barely even know each other to be called acquaintances”, he remarked rolling his eyes.

“Maybe, we should fix that”, threw in Yunho in response to Changmin’s rebuttal.

“Like what, go on a date? Don't make me laugh”, shot back Changmin with derision.

“Oh, its’ weird for people trying to marry each other to go on a date, now”, responded Yunho with sarcasm.

Changmin pursued his lips trying to come up with a scathing response of his own but he couldn’t think of anything.

“It's not.... I don't ..... ahh”, his words fizzled out, damn Yunho for being right! 

Yunho took mercy on the frustrated Omega and said, “I didn't mean to put you in a spot“

Changmin shot him a accusatory glance at that. Yunho ignored it and pushed forward, 

“I would like to take you as my date on my grandparents’ 50th anniversary and have you meet my family”

Changmin’s mouth fell open at that. The Omega really wore all his emotions on his face, thought Yunho.

“I can understand it's a bit too much information to process at one time. I don't need an answer right now”, Yunho supplied helpfully.

Changmin opened his mouth twice as if to say something but words didn’t quite come out. Yunho waited for him to say something but the silence seemed to keep stretching on.

“I am going out of the country for a week, when I comeback I hope you have an answer for me”, Yunho finally said breaking the silence.

“I should go”, Changmin finally said getting up from his seat. There were too many things running through his head at once as he turned to head towards the door.

“Before I forget, I wanted to ask you something”, said Yunho halting Changmin in his steps.

“What”, asked Changmin turning back to face Yunho.

“What is it that you do for a living”, asked Yunho casually. Changmin shook his head as if he wasn’t quite sure of what he had heard. 

“I wondered, I didn't see your name in any of the Shim Enterprise documents. I had always assumed you were in family business”, babbled on Yunho reopening his files to continue his work, trying to look nonchalant, and not sound a bit stalkerish now that he had revealed that he was searching for Changmin’s name.

“No, I am far from a businessman. I am just a writer”, waved off Changmin with a depreciating smile.

Yunho was quite surprised at that. It was vastly different than what Yunho would have guessed. Usually, children tend to follow their parents if they already have an established business. Since Changmin was an only child, it was even more surprising and remarkable that he had not joined the family business. With Changmin looks, Yunho might have guessed for him to be a model or just maybe a spoiled heir hanging out with celebrities, doing ‘charity’ work for publicity. Mostly, because Changmin clearly didn’t have a 9 to 5 work schedule as he seemed to easily drop in for a visit during work hours.

Well, now it made sense that why Changmin wasn’t bounded by a typical work schedule.

“Oh! Wow, I might have come across some of your work, then”, remarked Yunho mentally recollecting if he ever came across Changmin’s name as the author in any of the books he had ever perused.

“You? I doubt it”, shot back Changmin with a snort.

Yunho was so tired of Changmin underestimating him. There were so many better ways of replying to his question. Changmin could have politely told him about his books and speculated that Yunho might not have come across it. But, he rather scoffed at him like he was mocking Yunho’s reading material.

“Well, I might not seem like it to you but I do take interest in reading different genres”, Yunho said, failing to keep his bitterness in check.

“Not the ones that I write”, replied Changmin promptly.

Changmin could see that he had offended Yunho in some way but he really didn’t know what to say to fix it. In Korea, his published works were children’s books. He did write adult novels but those were very explicit, self-indulgent and most importantly they were written in Japanese. Neither of those were something Yunho would read.

He looked at Yunho but Yunho had gone back to his work. Changmin felt like he had been dismissed. He knew better than to overstay his welcome.

However, when he reached the door, he turned to face Yunho and grumbled, “Umm...”

Yunho looked up from his file, a little frown marred his handsome face.

“Safe travels”, Changmin said with a tight smile.

“Oh, thanks”, Yunho replied feeling a little dumbfounded.

Changmin swiftly made it out of the door after that. But somehow, a warm feeling settled inside Yunho’s chest.

 

Suddenly the door was thrown open and in walked a very amused Heechul. Yunho could only imagine that he had met Changmin outside.

“The missus was here, I see”, Heechul said gleefully making himself comfortable on a chair.

Yunho shook his head and defended , “We haven’t even agreed to marry, yet. We are just discussing”

“Po-tay-to Po-tah-to”, said Heechul in a dismissive manner.

“Those things aren’t remotely similar”, argued Yunho shutting the file he was working on.

“Aren’t they? If you have already made up your mind”, argued back Heechul nonchalantly.

“What do you mean”, asked Yunho a bit defensively.

Heechul shrugged and replied,“Just saying, last I knew he had rejected you. And now suddenly Queen Bambi is in your office, and you guys are discussing the royal wedding”

“We have had some time to talk”, explained Yunho in a casual tone.

“Before or after you banged”, Heechul shot back promptly barely able to hold his smug smile.

Yunho’s mouth flew open, he was flummoxed.

“Nothing happened that night. He was wasted, I just gave him a change of clothes”, retorted Yunho feverently. Because, honestly nothing had happened, only Yunho got the confirmation that won’t be having trouble getting it up any time soon.

“Sure, try saying that without blushing”, Heechul’s patronizing tone cut in.

“Stop making stuff up”, said Yunho chucking a stress ball at Heechul, flustered.

Heechul let the ball hit him and overreacted with a painful moan and exaggeratedly rubbing at the spot.

“Yah, now you are hitting your Hyung for him”, he complained.

Yunho was so done with his shit.

“Did you just come here to antagonize me”, he asked with a defeated sigh.

“That’s a given. But I did need something else”, said Heechul try to hide a grin. That wasn’t a good sign at all. None of Heechul’s requests or plans were sane.

“I am kind of afraid to ask”, said Yunho hesitantly.

Heechul scoffed and added,“Jeez, not like I am not gonna ask you to break into my last one night stand’s apartment and retrieve my underwear”

“I hope not”, said Yunho slightly horrified at the prospect.

“I just need you to get a sign”, said Heechul casually sliding a book, the back of the cover facing him. There was some kanji written on it. He saw the author’s name ‘Chami’. He vaguely remembered coming across some of his works. Wait!

“Hyung, isn't this the ....”, he mumbled curiously turning over to the front.

Yup, there it was! He immediately turned it back with a horrified look on his face.

“Best readable porn to exist”, said Heechul smugly, lifting his brow in a leer.

“Who is even going to sign this thing”, exclaimed Yunho dropping the book like a hot potato.

“Chami-sensei. They are holding a fansign in Tokyo, the week you are visiting”, said Heechul excited.

“The author will be signing these... I can't even be seen with this book anywhere. Look at the cover page”, balked Yunho turning the front to Heechul.

It showed a lewd art of two artfully undressed guys. The shorter guy had his legs splayed open in the other guy’s lap, there was a strategically placed tie covering their naughty bits. But it was pretty evident what was going on.

“Would you get over yourself, not like you are a minor who would get busted over porn”, scoffed Heechul.

“Why can't you go”, retorted Yunho.

“Because the stupid court moved the dates of my hearing”, spat out Heechul annoyed.

Yunho shrugged and said, “I will be busy the whole time there. I can't make it to the fansign”

And, that was it. Heechul started going off like a bomb, “I don't care, just make it happen! Chami sensei never holds a fansign, this might be the only one ever and if I miss it because you are too much of a prude, we might have to reconsider our friendship here”

Yunho was could not believe what was happening. He had hardly seen Heechul being serious about anything. He felt a bit wrong footed all of a sudden.

“You are not serious about that, are you”, asked Yunho a little shaken and slightly worried. 

“Yah, I don't joke about hentai novels”, said Heechul dead serious. Great, now he will have to embarrass himself standing in line with teenagers and bored home-makers to get an’ erotica’ signed. He sighed and wondered if it was too late to cancel his trip.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any resemblance of Changmin's career to a certain Usami Akihiko from Junjou Romantica is purely incidental *nervous laugh*  
> Hope you guys have a great weekend! Thank you everyone who has been reading and commenting <3


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Made it on time for a 7th chapter in a row! *Pats self on the back* It is always so exciting to read everyone's comments, gets me all hyped! Thank you everyone who have been leaving kind comments and hitting that kudos button! Here goes nothing...

Yunho walked out of the shower, towel-drying his hair. A long, warm shower had done him some good. He felt like the tension and tiredness accumulating from the whole day, leaving him. He had back-to-back meetings the whole day. So many people he met and socialized. He had answered their probing questions about how he can handle their requirements, also tried to ignore some of close minded old people’s snickers about him being a little boy who seemed to have stumbled upon wealth with no breeding whatsoever. All the while, trying to make sure that his Japaneses was perfect all the time. Man, did he deserve a break!

 

He decided to catch the train and go out to a recommended or famous ‘night-life’ area. Get some good Japanese cuisine in his belly, pick up some good wine for his grandparents and probably hit up some karaoke or dance club.

 

With that decided, he dropped the wet-towel on his bed and went about locating his phone, naked and unashamed. He liked the privacy of the suite, he liked to set it free most of the times, underwear had always felt a bit too restrictive to him. He couldn’t help but smile reminiscing about the time Changmin had to stay overnight. He had almost not put on any clothes when he came out of the bathroom. Thankfully, at the last moment he had grabbed a towel and wrapped it around. Not that it made a difference, Changmin was still looking at his crotch like it was out on display. His cock twitched a bit at his memory of Changmin’s expression. He shook his head as if to clear off a haze, it’s been a some time since he had last had sex. His hind brain seemed to have zeroed in on Changmin as his latest wank fantasy. Probably, because the Alpha in him subconsciously perceived the whole thing between him and Changmin as a mating ritual and hence was always in the anticipation of some potential action.

 

He just needed to distract himself with something else. His eyes fell upon the book that was on the table. The lewd cover-page art made him think how perfect Changmin would be for this cover. Changmin’s legs were a thing of beauty. Aesthetically, Changmin would look so good spread out like that, his bare legs on display with his beautiful sun-kissed skin, which Yunho doubted might be a good spray-tan work. Now, that he was picturing it, he could suddenly understand the appeal of the book. He would absolutely buy a dozen of these books if Changmin was on the cover.

 

His train of thoughts paused abruptly as he lifted the book. Then, he remembered why he had the book with him in the first place.

 

“Shit”, he exclaimed as he glanced at the clock. He didn’t have much time. He ran to put on something decent before he left in a hurry.

 

* * *

 

When Yunho finally reached the bookstore, he noticed that there wasn’t much of a crowd there. That, was not a good sign. He foolishly hoped that the few numbers were probably because the fansign was a small one.

He entered the bookstore and saw people already re-arranging the desks and chairs. Ok, that was bad. He approached the lady near the counter.

“Excuse me”, he said to get her attention. She gave him a kind smile in response and asked him if he needed any help, politely.

“There was supposed to be a fansign here, today”, stated Yunho gesturing at the place.

The lady seemed regretful as she responded,“Oh, it ended about...”.

She paused, trying to check the time on her phone. Yunho really didn’t need to hear the end of it to figure out that he was completely screwed. Heechul will be throwing so much more than his usual hissy fit for this.  

“10 minutes ago. I am sorry, can I help you with something”, she asked trying to cheer him up.

Yunho tried to think fast about how he could salvage the situation. Maybe he could track down the author and convince her to sign the book. He was good at convincing people and if that didn’t work he would have to plead his case with some kind of a fake sob story. Anyway, he could get it done.

“Is sensei still here”, he asked a bit hopeful.

“Yunho”, is all he heard before someone threw himself into his arms. Yunho was stunned, he would never expect anyone here, to know him much less hug him.  But just a whiff of scent from the person’s neck which was conveniently near Yunho’s nose, told him everything he needed to know.

“Changminah”, he asked tentatively, as he finally reciprocated the hug back by placing his hands on the Omega’s waist. He could immediately feel the Omega flinch a bit in reaction to that but the Omega kept his body pressed close to him, nevertheless.

“Just nod along and get me out of here”, he heard in Changmin’s unmistakable dulcet tone before he pulled back just a bit so that he could face him.

Changmin slowly placed his hands on Yunho’s shoulders and started massaging them lightly. Yunho tried to maintain a poker face at that, the Omega’s hands working like that, were doing things to him.

“You said you won't be able to make it on time”, accused Changmin with an exaggerated pouted as he flipped his hair a bit. Damn, if that wasn’t a KO for Yunho.

“Surprise”, Yunho responded tentatively, trying to play along with whatever was going on.

“Chami-chan”, a voice made them break away from each other.

Changmin still stayed close by his side. The man who came into sight looked a little miffed at both Yunho and Changmin. But tried to cover it up with a smile, it came across a bit creepy to Yunho.

Changmin then said,“Honda-san, this is Jung Yunho. My... uhh...”, he trailed off slowly bringing Yunho’s hand to slide inside his back pocket, letting his actions speak for himself. Yunho was really proud that he did not look at Changmin in response with a ‘what the fuck’ expression. He was pretty sure he looked flustered though.

He looked back at the guy, Honda, as Changmin had said. But he shouldn’t have worried if the guy had picked up on Yunho’s expressions because his eyes were firmly stuck on the Omega, his stare was quite unnerving. Yunho was beginning to understand the situation here.

“We have reservations for tonight, we better get going”, said Yunho to Changmin, with a sweet smile on his face, playing the role of a doting boyfriend.

“Sure”, replied Changmin with an exaggerated smile, that looked so fake that Yunho was thankful that Changmin wasn’t facing Honda. The Omega was a terrible liar.

“If you want I can show you both around”, Honda interrupted in a desperate tone them as they had turned to make their escape.

Changmin brought his hand to rest on Yunho’s pecs and said, “We will mostly be indoors”.

Yunho could see Changmin’s whole face turn pink after what he had implied. Yunho slipped his hand around Changmin’s waist and pulled him close, surprising the Omega.

“Let’s get going before it gets any worse”, whispered Yunho into Changmin’s ears before he turned to Honda to give him a blood curdling expression.

He lifted his hand in a gesture that he was taking his leave. Honda seemed a little intimidated by that. Yunho then guided Changmin out of the shop with his hand firmly placed on the small of his back.

Suddenly, something occurred to Yunho as they were walking down the street. Changmin had responded to ‘Chami-chan’, did that mean....

Yunho briefly wondered if he had hit his head somewhere while he was rushing to the fansign and he was in middle of a very lucid dream, which plays out like a cheesy porno where he saves Changmin and they go back to his room where he thanks him for the rescue in all the various way depicted in the book he had written.

“You think he is following us”, asked Changmin in a worried tone.

“Who”, asked Yunho confused now that his train of thoughts had been interrupted.

“Who do you think”, shot back Changmin sarcastically.

Yunho’s attention snapped back in, “I don’t think so. I think I spooked him good”.

“Then, you don’t need to keep your hand on me”, said Changmin softly.

Yunho realized that his hand was still resting on the small of Changmin’s back and pulled it back immediately.

“Where are we going”, asked Changmin as they kept walking.

“Well, I am going back to the station”, answered Yunho with a sigh.

He looked at Changmin who still kept walking beside him and said, “I don’t know what you are planning to do but I can call you a cab if you want”

“I am not always in need of a ride, you know”, responded Changmin with some sass.

“Could have fooled me”, shot back Yunho with a shrug.

“You just have terrible timing when you encounter me”, argued Changmin with a pout.

“You mean, the most fortunate timing”, countered Yunho good naturedly.

“Thank You”, slipped in Changmin casually. Yunho was caught off guard by it, he halted in his steps to look at Changmin.

“What”, asked Changmin a bit self-consciously, tucking his hair behind his ear, stopping alongside Yunho.

“Just, you baffle me sometimes”, said Yunho honestly shaking his head.

Changmin looked at him confused.

“I think I have got you all figured out but then you do something and it topples my whole theory”, said Yunho cryptically.

At first glance Changmin seemed like the quintessential spoiled heir. His conversations with Yunho had always been laced with a hint of arrogance and of course his pride which rivaled Yunho’s own. But the same Changmin did admit to his faults, made him pancakes, was polite to his family too and most importantly, showed gratitude. Both sides of Changmin were so juxtaposing yet were very real and existed in one person.

“Really ? I thought you had me all figured out quite perfectly seconds after were were first introduced”, bit back Changmin sarcastically.

“Maybe I judged the book by its vain cover”, replied Yunho trying to get a reaction out of Changmin.

Because the Omega’s behavior on the day that they had met wasn't the best. He wanted to see how Changmin would deal with it, would he get angry about it or would he address it and explain himself.

Changmin did neither. He pursed his lips at the comment and then continued walking beside Yunho in silence. Yunho still wasn't sure where Changmin was heading to. He could only guess that he was going to the station as well. They kept walking in silence.

But, Yunho could never deal with uncomfortable silences. He always felt compelled to say something, anything to break the tension.

“It was quite a surprise to see you here but I am glad that I did”, said Yunho.

When Changmin shot him a surprised look, Yunho nodded his head slightly to convey his sincerity.

Changmin ran his hands through his face as if gathering himself. And then said,

“I am the one who is thankful. I was very close to calling the cops on the guy”

“Is he someone from your workplace”, asked Yunho, worried.

Changmin let out a sigh and shook his head at that.

“Thankfully, no. He was one of the fans who came to my fansign. He bought like a 1000 copies of my book alone. After he saw me, he insisted that I spend the whole fansign signing on each of his copies”, he said exasperated.

“And the authorities didn’t do anything about it”, Yunho’s enquiry came out a little louder than what he had intended.

Changmin seemed a bit taken aback at his volume but he didn’t mention it.

“I just laughed it off and signed one and moved on. But he lurked till the end. He must have paid off some of the staff so he could stay behind after the fansign and talk to me. He was coming on to me too strong, it worried me that everyone turned a blind eye to it”, said Changmin, his face portraying his disgust and a hint of fear that he must have felt back then.

“Fucking Bastards”

Changmin was quite surprised, it was the first time ever he had heard Yunho cussing. Changmin stopped and turned to Yunho. Yunho stood there looking absolutely furious.

“I should fucking go back and punch the daylights out of that scum”, muttered Yunho before he turned in the opposite direction and started walking.

Changmin immediately followed him, increasing his speed to catch up with him.

“I’d rather not watch you get arrested by the police on charges of battery”, said Changmin, trying to be the voice of reason.

Alas, it was wasted on Yunho as he steadily kept walking. Changmin in desperation, reached out and grabbed Yunho’s arm.

Thankfully rather than an angry shrug off , Yunho ever the gentleman, stopped and turned his full attention towards Changmin.

“I am serious, let it go”, coaxed Changmin with his big,round doe-eyes.

Yunho opened his mouth like he would protest but Changmin’s hold and his expressions really left no room for argument. Ultimately, it was Changmin’s matter and if he didn’t want to pursue it, Yunho had no right to do otherwise.

“Pisses me off when people like him go scot-free”, said Yunho, his face twisting trying to repress his anger.

Changmin was pleasantly surprised to see that Yunho managed to bring his rage under control and quite impressed that he didn’t argue with Changmin on the matter even though he had his own strong opinions on it.

“Well, then I hope you don’t watch the news”, said Changmin, his words sarcastic but his expression gentle.

Yunho felt his anger slowly draining away as Changmin slowly slid his hand from Yunho’s arm to squeeze his hands tightly. Yunho realized that the Omega’s hands were soft and easily engulfed by his own. Soon enough, Changmin let go of him. Too soon, in Yunho’s opinion.

 

* * *

 

Changmin had noticed a ‘Takoyaki’ stall and coaxed Yunho to get some with him, Changmin’s treat. As they both sat on a bench eating, Yunho realized that he was famished. He had skipped lunch and then was busy working and then running around Tokyo to even think about eating something.

“What were you doing at that place anyway”, Changmin asked absently, his cheeks round due to the takoyaki he had stuffed in them.

Yunho almost choked on his food. There was no way this wasn’t going to be awkward. He contemplated lying but then he knew that he was a horrible liar, he would definitely fumble his way onto an unbelievable story which might be worse than the truth itself.

“Well... I... long story short, I was supposed to go to the fansign but I kind of forgot and missed it”, Yunho said and immediately stuffed himself with food to stop himself from adding anything else.

Changmin’s eyes widened so big at that, it was of the size akin to the ones seen on anime characters.

To Yunho, Changmin looked like a surprised hamster, he tried not to laugh at the imagery.  

“Wow... just wow”, was all Changmin could say. He then turned his face away, Yunho could see his shoulders shaking.

“Are you laughing at me”, asked Yunho incredulously.

“No... you being a fan of the book is quite unexpected”, replied Changmin pulling the most unconvincing straight face ever.

“Yeah, that coming from the person who writes them”, shot back Yunho feeling vindictive.

“It’s for a targeted audience”, defended Changmin with his mouth full.

“Besides, I was getting the sign for Heechul-hyung”, clarified Yunho.

“Oh please”, Changmin almost snorted at that.

“Yah, if I had to be a fan, I would be of something with more substance”, argued Yunho.

All humor seemed to drain out of Changmin in an instant.

“What did you say”, Changmin asked in a challenging tone.

“Oh, come on. You said it yourself. It caters to a certain audience. It’s more about the steamy scenes than the story”, countered Yunho, not backing down.

“Really ? Have you even read the book or did you base that opinion purely off the cover”, asked Changmin, pointing at Yunho with the chopsticks.

“As a matter of fact, I did read the first few publications”, retorted Yunho, shoving a takoyaki in his mouth and then proceeding to chew it with a smug smile.

“And...”, prompted Changmin, with barely repressed anger in his voice.

“And, what”, asked Yunho his voice muffled by his mouth being full.

“Let me hear it, your expert critique on my writing”, goaded Changmin with a sneer.

“I am by no means an expert. It just wasn’t to my taste”, replied Yunho trying to not start a fight.

“Yeah, you are not gonna find inspirational biographies in there so I guess it wouldn’t be to your taste. Just because you don’t like the genre, you can’t just claim that the book lacks substance”, said Changmin in a patronizing tone.

And that tone was enough to get Yunho fired up.

“I do like to read romance. I am just saying that it would help if Kai and Tae talked about the problems in their relationship instead of getting it on every other scene. And then they never clear the misunderstandings between them”, ranted Yunho, giving Changmin the critique he had wanted.

Changmin was clenching his jaw in response when Yunho was done.

“So, basically you are a prude”, shot back Changmin snidely.

“I am not. It just gives me a feeling that the storyline is secondary to the racy parts”, argued Yunho.

“This is not the 1800s! Modern romance is all about sex”, cried Changmin outraged.

There were a few people who looked at them curiously. Yunho thanked the heavens that they weren’t having the argument in Japanese.

“I cannot believe I am having this argument”, Yunho said , choosing to turn his focus on his food rather than the meaningless argument that was going on.

“Fine, I will end this argument. You simply have no taste”, concluded Changmin with a scowl.

“Agree to disagree”, retorted Yunho at that.

“Ahjusshi”, muttered Changmin in lieu of a petty insult.

Yunho wanted to point out that fact that, the Omega wasn’t much younger than him but he wisely decided not to. Changmin did look like he would poke his eyes with his chopsticks if Yunho didn’t let him have the last word.

Yunho wisely turned his attention towards his phone. He checked the train timings to check which one he should take to get to the wine store that he had planned on visiting. He decided to catch the train that was coming in the next 30 minutes. He glanced to check on Changmin. The omega seemed to be sulking in silence. It definitely was better to leave him alone under circumstances but Yunho still wanted to be sure that Changmin was going to be safe before he left him.

“I gotta catch a train soon”, said Yunho trying to catch Changmin’s attention.

“Where are you going”, asked Changmin casually while chewing his food.

“Just checking out some wine stores. My grandfather likes wine so I thought of gifting him something nice”, replied Yunho finishing his food.

Changmin pouted a bit as if he was considering something. Yunho waited for him to speak.

“I know some nice wine places around, I could show you around”, Changmin said finally coming to a decision.

Yunho did not see that coming at all. Usually the Omega loathed to spend more time than absolutely necessary in his presence. Yunho doubted that Changmin might be feeling indebted towards him for today and this might be his way of paying him back. Yunho absolutely wouldn’t have any of that.

“ You don't have to **.** Surely, you have better plans than helping a noob like me buy some decent wine”, waved off Yunho quickly.

“Wait, did you just call yourself a noob”, asked Changmin amused, his lips curling into a smile.

“I don't know a single thing about wine”, admitted Yunho honestly.

“And, how do you plan on buying a nice one”, asked Changmin cheekily.

Yunho pouted and shrugged, “Figured, I would just go with what felt right”

Changmin narrowed his eyes all judgemental and spoke,

“It's so obvious that you should go with the most expensive one if you have no idea about it”

“Expensive doesn't necessarily mean nice”, retorted Yunho

“Only stingy people say that”, remarked Changmin, his voice accusatory.

Yunho threw his hands up in the air in defense, he really didn’t want to start another argument.

“Fine, are you sure you want to come along”, asked Yunho conceding.

“Well, I don’t want you gifting a bottle right off the shelf of a convenience store”, Changmin replied sarcastically.

“What’s wrong with that”, asked Yunho confused.

Changmin looked at him horrified. At that point, Yunho wisely decided to shut up.

 

* * *

 

 

So, after Changmin had invited himself to ‘help’ Yunho, they found themselves sitting in the train beside each other, travelling to the place that Changmin had chosen.

As soon as Changmin had hit the seat, he had pulled out his airpods and put them on effectively shutting out any chance of conversation. It's nothing Yunho hadn't expected from the Omega. He decided to check his messages instead.

Changmin was getting distracted by the two girls sitting across from them. They kept constantly chuckling, whispering and pushing at each other. At some point, one of them discreetly clicked a picture of Yunho and then giggled loudly. Changmin at that point looked at Yunho but the Alpha seemed to be oblivious, busy typing out an email. Changmin cranked up the volume on his phone and decidedly stared outside the window, determined to ignore the girls.

After a while something hit his foot. He looked at his feet and there seemed to be a wallet near it. Before he could bend to retrieve it, he felt a hand on his right thigh. Soon, he had Yunho reaching across his lap to pick up the wallet while using Changmin’s thigh for support. When Yunho moved away, Changmin released a breath that he wasn’t aware that he was holding. Changmin’s hands automatically went to his ears, a reflex whenever he blushed.

“Thank you”, he heard one of the girls say.

Changmin threw a glance to see Yunho handing over the wallet to her.

“Not a problem”, replied Yunho with a bright smile.

“You both make a very cute couple”, said the other girl a little excited.

Changmin was about to jump in and clear the misunderstanding but Yunho beat him to it.

“We are not...”, Yunho trailed off failing to find the right word to define his and Changmin’s relation.

Changmin was amused, he tried to curb his smile that had slipped through in anticipation of all the awkwardness Yunho would have to muddle through to explain what Changmin was to him.

“Sorry, we assumed. It’s just hard to imagine someone like you not already having someone”, the girl said in a coquettish tone.

Changmin couldn’t help but roll his eyes at that. Clearly the girl was only interested in Yunho, as long as Changmin wasn’t in the way she didn’t really care.

Yunho let out an embarrassed laugh at the girl’s remark.

“I could say the same about you”, Yunho said with a kind smile.

“You are just being kind”, simpered the girl.

“No, really”, Yunho insisted good-naturedly, getting giggles from the girls in response.

Wow, the man did have some game, Changmin would have to give it to him. However, Changmin felt like he had a right to be a pissed because it was rude of the Alpha to be flirting with random ladies in front of him especially when he had asked Changmin’s hand in marriage. Changmin distantly started wondering if the Alpha was a natural flirt. Well, to be honest, he and Yunho have been going at each other’s throat since day one so he had never really seen Yunho in his element. There was the matter of Go Ara being reportedly Yunho’s new girlfriend, which Yunho denied but what he had heard of their little interaction could easily qualify as flirting. There was also the picture of Yunho with another lady back when Changmin had woken up in Yunho’s guest bedroom.

It was strange that the man had flirted with everyone else but him, the person he was interested in marrying.

The announcement for the next station broke off Changmin’s train of thoughts. They needed to get off at the next stop. He turned his attention towards Yunho and caught some of the conversation that was still going on.

“We are heading that way too. Do you want to join us”, asked one of the girls.

Changmin narrowed his eyes at that anticipating Yunho’s reaction, ready to judge him harshly.

Yunho looked a little wrong footed. But he recovered soon and said, “Ahh... but I have plans with my friend”

Changmin almost scoffed at the usage of the word ‘friend’.

“He can join us too. More the merrier”, the girl making googly eyes at Yunho said.

Changmin got up from his seat to shuffle out and head towards the door. He didn’t think he could stand anymore of this cringe-worthy flirting that was going on. But his foot got caught in something and he stumbled down right on Yunho’s lap. Yunho immediately grabbed Changmin by his waist to right his balance.

Changmin just wanted the ground to swallow him up now. His legs were splayed open, straddling Yunho’s legs, in front of those girls, whose eyes were round as saucers now.

“You ok”, he heard Yunho asking in a concerned tone.

Changmin was too embarrassed to form a proper reply to that. He immediately got up on his feet and escaped towards the exit.

Soon enough the doors opened as they arrived their destination. Changmin stepped off the train and walked a bit ahead before he turned back to spot Yunho.

Yunho had also stepped out but was currently standing chatting with the girls. All of them had their phones in their hands and gesturing at each other. it was very clear from Changmin’s vantage point that they were exchanging numbers.

Fuck this! He was hungry, he decided to head out on his own and get something to eat and forget about ungrateful and shameless Alphas. When he started walking away, he heard a shout from a distance.

“Changmin”

Changmin ignored it. Yunho could just go on his merry way.

“Changminah”, this time the shout got a little louder. Changmin just increased his pace in response to that.

“Changminnie”, somehow the voice had gotten closer but hoarser. Why won’t Yunho just take the hint and get lost ?

“Yah Changdol”, he heard before he was grabbed by his hand. Changmin turned around to see Yunho all out of breath and confused holding on to him.

“What”, asked Changmin angrily snatching his hand back.

“You want to go out and party with those girls and leave me to buy your grandfather a gift by myself ? Or do you want me to continue pretending like I am just a ‘friend’ to you? Or just spit out some more of those ridiculous nicknames to annoy me ? WHAT ? ”, blurted out Changmin.

Yunho looked absolutely puzzled by the whole rant. He blinked twice before he slowly replied,

“I just wanted to say that you were heading in the wrong direction”

“Oh”, said Changmin slowly, now flustered by his outburst.

He didn’t quite know what to say so he turned in the opposite direction and started walking. Yunho trailed behind him.

“I was just being polite to those ladies”, said Yunho after a while of uncomfortable silence between them.

“Sure, you took their numbers just to be polite”, retorted Changmin unable to curb his sarcasm.

Yunho increased his pace and soon intercepted Changmin.

“I did. What would you have done if you were in my place”, asked Yunho looking into Changmin’s accusatory eyes.

“Told them the truth in the first place”, replied Changmin glaring at Yunho.

“What truth”, asked Yunho confused.

Changmin rolled his eyes at Yunho pretending to be daft.

“The truth about us”, answered Changmin narrowing his eyes.

“I did tell them that we weren’t a couple”, argued Yunho meeting Changmin’s glare.

“Convenient”, muttered Changmin looking away from Yunho.

He had just had about enough of the whole conversation. He moved away from Yunho and resumed walking

“If you consider that a lie then what is the truth”, asked Yunho turning towards Changmin.

That made Changmin stop in his tracks. He turned back towards Yunho who stood there expecting an answer from him.

Truthfully, Changmin did not have one. He didn’t even know why he had broached the topic with Yunho in the first place. They were both in an uncomfortable phase where they couldn’t define their relationship. He had just wanted to take out his frustration on Yunho by throwing accusations left and right. He really wasn’t thinking. Now that he was mulling it over, his behavior definitely came across as a jealous fit. And, that explained the absolute bewilderment in Yunho’s face. Fuck, he was nothing to Yunho, what the hell was he doing! His hunger must be getting to him.

 “I am hungry and that’s making me moody. You can’t hold anything I am saying now against me”, replied Changmin folding his hands in defense.

Yunho wanted to point out that they had eaten just an hour ago but Changmin somehow had gotten himself worked up and he didn’t wish to push the Omega’s button again tonight.

“You want to get some yakitori”, asked Yunho tentatively.

Changmin’s eyes lighting up at that was all the affirmation he needed.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I am late (I partially blame it on ao3 going down when I was ready to post) but I doubt anyone would notice because honestly most of fandom is probably still undergoing resuscitation after the Circle encore performance. People who saw it live, idk how you guys survived.

The Omega’s mood had gradually improved once he had had yakitori. Yunho chose not to because he was still full from the Takoyaki.

Once they started looking for wine, Changmin’s mood improved exponentially. He looked so gleeful and excited to try everything out.

“Would it be ok to try a little of it”, asked Changmin politely throwing his bambi eyes for the full effect, to the owner of the store.

“Of course”, the owner said enthusiastically and went to fetch glasses for both Yunho and Changmin. Hell, Yunho would have given Changmin everything he had if he was at the receiving end of that look. The owner was a mere mortal.

Changmin turned to Yunho, his lips pressed into a thin line, eyes wide in excitement. He was like a kid in a candy store.

Soon, the owner returned with glasses and poured them some wine for tasting. Yunho took a sip and tried to make expressions like he was an expert assessing the wine. He didn’t seem like a noob in front of the owner.

“What do you think of it”, asked Changmin curious.

Yunho pursued his lips trying to come up with something sophisticated to say. But finally came up with, “It’s sweet”

“But not too much. Has a nice smoky aftertaste”, babbled on Changmin.

“Yeah”, added Yunho not quite caring what Changmin was going on about.

Frankly, this was the fourth store that they have been to and as much as Yunho loved his grandfather, visiting a fifth store just to pick up a wine seemed excessive. He had decided to pick one here and cease.

“Smells nice too”, said Changmin taking a whiff of the drink. Yunho, ever the curious, took a whiff too. It was a nice scent, seemed somewhat familiar, wait...

“Smells like you”, Yunho remarked with a fond smile.

“What”, asked Changmin going still.

“I like the scent”, Yunho remarked taking another whiff, oblivious to Changmin’s reaction. That made Changmin even more flustered.

“I will take this one”, said Yunho to the owner with a polite smile.

“I thought your grandfather didn’t like sweet flavors”, protested Changmin, proud that he hadn’t stuttered.

“He doesn’t. I am buying it for myself”, replied Yunho nonchalantly.

Changmin was pretty sure that he was blushing. Seemed like his theory about Yunho was right. The guy just naturally flirty, he was completely oblivious to the effect his compliments had on people.

Yunho turned to look at Changmin since he had gone silent. The Omega was touching his ear slightly, which had completely gone red.

“What”, asked Yunho confused when Changmin avoided any eye-contact.

“Let’s try the dry sake”, Changmin muttered in response and walked off leaving Yunho baffled.

 

* * *

 

Taemin pulled on a robe before stepping out of the bathroom. He felt great after washing away all the sweat, slick and cum. Thankfully, his heat had just ended. So, he and Jongin won’t be going at like rabbits for sometime now. He was tired. He hoped that the pizza had been delivered and that Jongin had changed the sheets. He just wanted to have some greasy food and cuddle up with Jongin.  

He followed the noise of the television playing to the living room. Jongin was chewing a slice of pizza while staring at whatever was playing on the TV, his feet resting on the teapoy. Well, one out of two wasn’t bad. He was famished!

He picked up a slice of the pizza and sat on the couch putting his feet up on Jongin’s lap.

“Your feet are cold”, complained Jongin wincing at the contact.

“Precisely why I am trying to warm them up”, replied Taemin cheekily.

Jongin started rubbing Taemin’s legs with his free hand, trying to warm them up.

“Did you remember to take your pills”, Jongin asked absently.

Taemin replied with a chuckle, “Of course, wouldn’t want any little Jongins running around next Christmas”

Jongin paused his ministrations abruptly and asked, “Would it be so bad to have kids with me”

“I think your future mate would mind that”, garbled Taemin with food in his mouth.

“Stop joking about that”, said Jongin in a clipped tone pushing Taemin’s feet off his lap.

“Hey, you are the one who started on the kids thing. What did you expect”, shot back Taemin baffled by the Alpha’s behavior.

“A real answer”, shot back Jongin with frustration.

Taemin opened and closed his mouth in false starts trying to delicately phrase his answer. But then, he gave up. There was no nice way of answering Jongin’s question. Hell, if anybody should be asking for answers. It should be him. They have been friends with benefits for years. And suddenly Jongin is questioning things? Too fucking late!

“What has brought this on? I thought we were very clear on what we were getting into. Kids are so far off the equation, we haven’t even talked about dating”, replied Taemin trying to keep anger in check.

“Can we just stop with the ‘we are not dating’ spiel”, cried Jongin in anguish.

“Sure,  just ignore facts”, muttered Taemin.

“No, that is not the fact. The fact is we haven't been with anyone else but each other for the past 7 years now”, exclaimed Jongin ferociously.

“I have never stopped you from dating. Did you forget that you went to the prom with someone else after we slept together for the first time? Or did you forget the numerous times over the years where you took different people as your date on public events”, argued Taemin wholeheartedly.

“You damn well know all of them were forced on me by Dad. I have never even engaged with them outside of business events”, said Jongin closing the gap between them, looking into Taemin’s eyes.

“You are the one who said that you cannot bear to disappoint your father. You will marry whoever he chooses so you cannot afford to fall in love. And there I was, conveniently around telling you that I did not want to shackle myself to anyone”, said Taemin meeting Jongin’s gaze. Jongin didn't seem to have any defense against that. He looked away from Taemin, his heavy breathing giving away the anger he was trying to rein in.

“We got into this relationship for no other reason than the fact that it was easy”, concluded Taemin when it became clear that the Alpha wasn't going to break his silence.

“So, are we supposed to drop it the moment things get difficult”, asked Jongin in a solemn tone. Taemin was having a hard time figuring out Jongin’s sudden change in mood.

He just gave up and said, “I am tired, Jongin. Would you stop beating around the bush and say what you want to”

“My Dad”, said Jongin in reply.

Of-fucking-course, thought Taemin picking up another pizza slice.

“He wants me to get married”, added Jongin.

Taemin clutched onto the pizza slice a little too hard. His breathing increased like his body was going into some kind of panic. He could not form any sort of reply to that.

This was bound to happen someday. Jongin was going to get married sometime sooner or later. Taemin understood it but he never imagined how unprepared he was to deal with it.

“Finish your food”, Jongin said softly before he left the room. Taemin felt like he was about to throw up.

 

* * *

 

 

Changmin judgingly eyed Yunho’s drunk rendition of Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal. He couldn't decide if drunk Yunho was the best or the worst thing to ever happen.

At first it was funny, amusing even spectacular, what with the Alpha being a terrific dancer like the ones that appear as contestants on dance reality shows. But after finishing all the MJ songs in the karaoke and an encore going on currently, Changmin really had had quite enough MJ to last him for a while.

After they were done with their wine shopping. They had dinner because Changmin was famished. He had only had some takoyaki and yakitori , which he considered as snacks and not a full meal to fill his belly. Yunho did look a bit skeptical when Changmin had told him the same but he was beyond the point of caring. He needed food asap!

They went to a nice barbecue restaurant with open grill. Changmin had to have drinks with the meat. Yunho very kindly footed the bill for both drinks and food as a thank you for helping him. So, Changmin went ham on the beer. Honestly, beer tasted so much better when someone else paid for it.

He was on his way to finishing off his fourth bottle when he heard Yunho giggling uncontrollably. He was concentrating so much on his food that he hadn’t noticed Yunho. The Alpha had 3 empty bottles in front of him and looked absolutely flushed.

 

_“You alright”, asked Changmin a bit concerned._

_“Yeah, just a little drunk”, said Yunho trying to keep a straight face. Wow, the man was a lightweight!_

_“Hmm... Drunk.... Drunk on love..”, Yunho trailed off laughing his loud embarrassed laugh, the one Changmin had heard during the train ride. It was quite charming. That thought made Changmin realize that he probably was not as unaffected by the alcohol as he had expected._

_“Are you referring to Rihanna’s song”, Changmin shot back sarcastically, opening his fifth bottle._

_“Hmmm.... we should go karaoking after this”, added Yunho with a dreamy sigh_

_“Please, the only place I am gonna go after this is the hotel and hit the bed”, stuffing more food to balance out the alcohol._

_“Why? Are you bad at singing”, asked Yunho with a sad pout._

_“No, it’s stupid to go karaoking after a full course dinner and too many drinks”, retorted Changmin pointing his chopsticks at Yunho._

_Yunho suddenly reached over the table and patted Changmin’s shoulders encouragingly._

_“It’s ok. Nobody’s judging you. It will be fine even if you sound like a dying cat while trying the high notes”, said Yunho patronizingly before he retracted his hands to reach for the last bottle of beer on their table._

_Changmin grabbed the bottle before Yunho could get to it and pulled it out of his reach. Yunho looked so comically confused, he frowned and pouted some more._

_“First, how dare you? I have been told that I sing like a nightingale. And second, I am cutting you off”, went off Changmin. As soon as Yunho opened his mouth to argue some more, Changmin swiftly fed him some of the abalone._

_“You haven’t been eating anything at all. That’s why you got drunk so fast”, he nagged before transferred some of the meat and the abalone to Yunho’s plate._

_Yunho garbled something with his mouth full but Changmin cut him off. “Finish everything on your plate. Then, lets go to a karaoke so that I can decimate you with my high notes”, said Changmin in a challenging tone._

_Yunho giggled a bit like an inside joke. That ticked Changmin off._

_“What”, asked Changmin defensively._

_“Has anyone ever told you that you look pretty even when you are angry”, asked Yunho with a dopey smile on his face._

_“Excuse me”, shot back Changmin indignantly._

_“Your eyes become bigger and rounder”, explained Yunho by making round shape with his fingers in front of his eyes._

_Changmin glared at Yunho in response._

_“See ? Just like that”, Yunho exclaimed all excited!_

_“You are so hammered”, scoffed Changmin as he kicked Yunho lightly under the table to overcome his embarrassment._

_“Oh... your ears turned red, Changdol”, exclaimed Yunho like he had made a groundbreaking discovery. Changmin just fed Yunho some more of the abalone to shut him up._

 

Currently, Changmin was sitting in the karaoke room begrudgingly admiring Yunho’s perfect moonwalk. Changmin couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic. He had only ever karaoked with Kyuhyun.

Kyuhyun when drunk, liked to serenade Changmin because he knew it embarrassed him a lot. And Kyuhyun just lived to see Changmin’s face turning into a tomato. They never went to a public karaoke bar to preserve Kyuhyun’s privacy. So, Kyuhyun had bought a karaoke machine and set it up at his house. He claimed it was to help train his voice but Changmin knew he bought it just so that he could serenade Changmin with the cheesiest of old trot songs; Shabang Shabang being Kyuhyun’s personal favourite.

Sometimes when Changmin was in the mood he would sing a ballad with Kyuhyun, never solo because it is embarrassing to sing in front of a professional singer. Though, Kyuhyun always praised his voice and kept asking him to at least sing one song by himself, he was too self-conscious.

 

_“You know what you sound like”, asked Kyuhyun dreamily from his spot on the carpet._

_“Shut up”, chided Changmin shoving Kyuhyun a bit, knowing fully well that Kyuhyun was going to spew out some more cringeworthy lines to torment him._

_“Nightingale”, continued Kyuhyun despite Changmin scolding, entirely too smug for have picked out the word._

_“I am already having sex with you, you don't need to try that hard”, said Changmin lightly kicking Kyuhyun’s foot. Kyuhyun burst into laughter in response and stretched out on the carpet._

_After he recovered his breath, Kyuhyun remarked with a sigh, “Our kids are gonna turn out to be the vocalists of the generation”_

_Changmin suddenly felt a lot more sober. He was always uncomfortable on the topic of marriage or children. He did enjoy being with Kyuhyun but he wasn't sure if he ever wanted to get married to anyone._

_“Sorry, I forgot that you are weird about long term plans”, said Kyuhyun with a tinge of bitterness when no response came._

_“Kyu, I think you have had enough”, said Changmin touching Kyuhyun’s arm. Kyuhyun reciprocated by bringing his hand over where Changmin’s hand was._

_Kyuhyun squeezed Changmin’s hand and said, “It's alright, though. ‘Coz I know you are gonna end up with me no matter what”_

 

Changmin didn't know if Kyuhyun truly believed that they were fated to end up together or if that was something he said to comfort himself. Well, they never got to figure out if they truly would have had their ‘forever’.

“Changminah”, Yunho’s voiced, pulled Changmin out of his thoughts. Changmin jumped a bit as the Alpha was much closer than he had expected him to be. Yunho looked a bit concerned.

“Please don't be sad”, he pleaded with a pout.

Changmin felt a bit defensive, he didn't like the fact that his emotions had somehow shown on his face, noticeable enough for a drunk Yunho. Claiming that he wasn't sad would be too childish so he kept his mouth shut instead.

“Here, you can sing whatever you want”, said Yunho encouragingly before he handed the microphone to Changmin.

Changmin found it quite heartwarming that even drunk, Yunho was trying to be considerate of his feelings.

Changmin looked at the list of songs, he was feeling melancholic so he chose an X-Japan ballad.

As the intro music kicked in, Yunho exclaimed, “Ahhh... Forever love”

Changmin slightly shook his head at the easily excitable Alpha. He closed his eyes and let the lyrics flow out. He didn’t need to see the screen for lyrics he had listened to this song too damn many times. Changmin being a sceptic never truly understood the word ‘love’ that was so overused. But there were some songs that truly delivered emotions and made Changmin think if ‘love’ really was just a single word quantifying all those mess of emotions. If so, it wasn’t quite enough. This song made Changmin feel like being in love was probably the best and worst thing to happen to someone, simultaneously.

Yunho closed his eyes and let Changmin’s sweet voice wash over him. The Alpha was in awe of how good Changmin was at singing. He opened eyes and saw the Changmin still had his eyes closed swaying slightly to the music. Yunho took the time to really ‘look’ at the Omega. Changmin’s face was something to really sit back and admire. Only every time Yunho even looked at him for a bit, the Omega would either glare at him in response or turn away, too darn self conscious.

Changmin had big eyelashes, high cheekbones and the most distracting and generous mouth. Yunho absently thought the Omega must have unknowingly broken so many hearts. Yunho couldn’t stop his mind from straying on to the thought that this man would be all ‘his’. His inner Alpha couldn’t help but preen to have acquired such an alluring mate. That is exactly when Yunho knew that the alcohol was taking over him. He tried to shake off the thought and concentrate on the Omega’s voice once again.

When Changmin perfectly executed the high notes, Yunho couldn’t stop himself from hooting.

“Changminaaaah... you are so cool”, exclaimed Yunho while loudly thumping on the couch.

Changmin opened his eyes and an embarrassed laugh escaped from the Omega’s lips. His eyes went mismatched, it took Yunho’s breath away. God, how had he not noticed it, before ?

He immediately realized that it was because of the fact that Changmin never really laughed in his presence. That was an atrocity, Changmin should laugh more often. Changmin finished off the song and shyly settled on the sofa.

“Your voice is as beautiful as you are. But you knew that already”, Yunho said before he lost his balance and his head landed on Changmin’s lap.

He immediately expected a shove but it never came. Instead, he felt the Omega’s tentative fingers touching his hair. After a moment’s hesitation, he felt Changmin fingers running through his hair.

“You okay”, he asked in a soft voice, dragging his nails softly over Yunho’s scalp. Yunho had to work hard to suppress a moan.

Lord, he was more than ok. In fact if he were to be any more ok than he already was, his pants would become tented.

“Yuppp”, Yunho replied sitting up straight. Changmin seemed a little surprised by his sudden movement by the way the Omega’s hands still hovered in the air unsure. Yunho pushed the mic on to his hands and asked with a smile,

“Sing us another one”

Changmin looked a bit confused but he complied all the same.

 

* * *

 

Taemin was lying on his freshly made bed. Albeit, a bit clumsily made because Jongin couldn't ever be bothered to make it perfectly. Some minutes ago, this was all he wished for. A good meal and a freshly made bed. However, now he could neither find any peace nor even a wink of sleep. He honestly just laid there so that he could avoid talking to Jongin who had surprisingly not walked out of Taemin’s apartment after their spectacular argument.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn’t notice that Jongin had quietly creeped into his bedroom.

“I know you are not asleep”, Jongin’s soft voice took Taemin by surprise.

He couldn’t hide his flinch at being surprised so acting that he was asleep was quickly out of the window. He decided to stubbornly remain silent, instead.

He heard Jongin sigh. After a bit, he could feel that Jongin had climbed into the bed. The Alpha’s hand came around his waist, body pressed closed to his.

“Avoiding the subject won’t help us”, Jongin whispered into Taemin’s hair.

“Hugs aren’t gonna solve it either”, countered Taemin going stiff against Jongin.

Jongin buried his nose in Taemin’s neck, he knew that Taemin’s fucking kryptonite. Once Taemin relaxed, Jongin said,

“When we started this relation, I was an 18 year old dumbass. I thought I had my life figured out and that nothing would ever change me”

“Jongin please...”, Taemin interrupted, trying to squirm to away. He didn’t want to discuss the topic anymore. He really was done for the night.

“No, just hear me out”, coaxed Jongin softly rubbing Taemin’s arms. Taemin stopped squirming but he decided not to face him. Jongin couldn’t have everything go his way.

Jongin continued, “I didn’t know what I was doing back then. It has been 7 years, everything has changed. Hell, I fell for you even before our first kiss”

“But nothing’s changed for me”, added Taemin all too quickly, his voice carefully devoid of any emotions, or at least that’s what he hoped it came out as.

Taemin tensed up expecting a cold shoulder or atleast a disappointing sigh from Jongin.

He was mistaken though as the Alpha only squeezed him a bit in his embrace and whispered a question in his ears,

“Then why haven’t you asked me to leave”

Taemin’s eyes welled up at the question because that was the crux of the problem. Taemin objectively knew that he didn’t want any attachments but his fucking heart never really got the message. Mentally, he had accepted the fact that Jongin wasn’t going to stay with him forever but when it really came down to it, he couldn’t let go. Atleast, not tonight. Taemin could only squeeze back Jongin’s hand in response. And that seemed to be enough for the Alpha as he didn’t ask any further questions and continued to silently hold on to Taemin for the rest of the night.

 

* * *

 

Yunho and Changmin were back on the train to return to their respective accommodations. They had returned and Changmin had as usual put on his airpods, he was done socializing for a month now. He was so damn tired. After a few stops had passed, Changmin looked at Yunho curiously as the man hadn’t made a single movement. He was horrified to find Yunho passed out. Changmin panicked, he didn’t know how to deal with it. Changmin wasn’t sure what station Yunho wanted to get off on. He saw Yunho slowly tilting towards his left side, almost falling off his seat. Changmin immediately reached out and pulled him back. Only now, the Alpha’s head fell on his shoulder. Changmin jumped a bit when Yunho’s nose came in contact with his neck. Changmin was a bit sensitive there so Yunho’s breath trickling his bare skin was giving him goosebumps all over. He noticed that because of his pull, Yunho’s lax right hand was now resting on Changmin’s lap.

 

He looked around consciously and people were definitely judging him. Changmin knew that his face must have completely turned red now. Still, he didn’t have the heart to wake Yunho up from his slumber. He tried to distract himself by looking at the window. But there he saw his own reflection, he looked so flushed, his pupils blown wide, his hair a mess. He was flustered by his own image. He looked like he had just been shagged in some back alley. He looked away hoping that his stop would arrive soon and that he would be far from any judgemental eyes.

 

Soon enough, his stop was announced to be the next one. He slowly shook Yunho’s hand that was still resting on his lap. Yunho stirred and slowly straightened his neck. He looked disoriented and squinted with confusion at Changmin.

Changmin self-consciously moved his hand to massage his neck, a nervous tick.

“I have to get off at the next stop”, he said in a gentle voice.

Yunho looked like he was solving some complex mathematical problem in his head. Changmin gave him some time so that his sleep-addled brain could process the whole thing.

Yunho seemed to be reaching a conclusion. He exclaimed, “Ahh... I missed my stop”

Changmin was hoping that Yunho’s stop was after his but that wasn’t the case. Changmin somehow felt like he was to blame though logically he knew he wasn’t responsible for the Alpha.

“What are you going to do”, asked Changmin worried. But before Yunho could answer, the announcement for the stop came in.

“Get off the train for starters”, said Yunho scrunching his nose. Smartass, Changmin thought as he rolled his eyes at the Alpha’s cheekiness.

They stepped off the train. Changmin watching over Yunho to make sure he didn’t lose his balance. But the Alpha gleefully jumped out in a small puddle of water that had formed due to the continuous drizzle that was going on. Changmin scrunched his nose at the water getting sprayed in every direction.

Changmin gritted his teeth as he would have to suck up and brave the rain and walk the few distance to his hotel. Arrgh... how he hated the rain!

Changmin turned to Yunho to ask him what he planned to do but his words died in his mouth as he saw Yunho unzipping his hoodie.

“The hell are you doing ? Keep you clothes on”, scolded Changmin bewildered.

“But it’s raining and you don’t have a hoodie”, countered Yunho confused.

“So”, challenged Changmin with a brow raised.

“You are not supposed to get cold”, replied Yunho with a pout.

Changmin balked at Yunho’s logic, “Alright, macho man. It’s hardly a mile from here to my place and it’s not even a heavy drizzle”

Yunho looked like he was going to argue but Changmin cut him off.

“Besides, I am going take a hot shower anyway so you know...”, Changmin trailed off as he reached out and zipped up Yunho’s hoodie.

Yunho sulked in response. How could a grown ass man look cute while sulking?

“Fine, I will walk you to your place and then take a cab”, Yunho grumbled putting his hands in his pocket.

Changmin scoffed in return,“If anyone needs to be escorted, its you”

“I am fine”, said Yunho as he tried to cross his legs while standing and almost fell off balance. Yeah, Changmin wasn’t really buying that. But the man was so stubborn, he would never admit to the fact that he needed help.

“Really ? Then, tell me the value of pi”, asked Changmin setting Yunho up for an assured failure.

“3.14159”, replied Yunho promptly as he wobbled a bit on his feet.

Changmin was absolutely flummoxed that Yunho not only knew the answer but was able to recall it even when he was so smashed.

“Why the heck do you know that? There’s something wrong with you, I swear”, wondered Changmin aloud shaking his head at Yunho

“See, I told you I am fine”, claimed Yunho too pleased with himself.

Changmin had no patience for Yunho’s smugness. Neither did he want to ponder on the fact that Yunho still managed to look attractive when he was being so smug.

“Well, stop being a smartass and crash in my suite for tonight”, scolded Changmin.

“But I am fine”, countered Yunho standing up straight. And this man had the audacity to claim that Changmin was stubborn!

Changmin held Yunho’s hand and said, “Don’t argue with me. Let’s go”

That seemed to work as Yunho went quiet. Instead of another baseless argument, Yunho focused on staring at their joined hands. Changmin stiffened a bit, feeling very conscious at Yunho’s stare. He still pulled through and slowly led them towards the path to his hotel. He pointedly avoided looking at Yunho.

“Why does it always rain when we meet”, Changmin heard Yunho wonder. Of course the blessed silence was never going last in the presence of the chatty Alpha.

“Because it's rainy season”, shot back Changmin hoping to quickly end the the thread of conversation.

“It's just like all the romantic movies”, he heard Yunho remark with a dreamy sigh.

“It's nothing like that”, Changmin quickly defended.

“That's not what you wrote in your book”, retorted Yunho with a chuckle.

Changmin turned to glare at Yunho in response.

“Oh now, you wanna bring up my book”, he shot back.

Yunho started giggling and finally managed to reply, “It's practically porn”

“You say that but you still read it”, argued Changmin somewhat offended by Yunho’s mocking.

“Heechul hyung basically bet on the fact that I couldn’t read the whole thing without getting hard”, said Yunho as if that was the funniest thing ever.

“That's something you guys take bets on”, asked Changmin feeling a bit weirded out.

“One of the tamer ones we have made. Heechul hyung always doing outrageous stuff”, said Yunho drunkenly waving off the whole thing as something trivial.

“So... did you lose the bet”, asked Changmin a teensy curious. Curious about the impact of his writing of course, not about what turns Yunho on.

“Of course, not. I am not some teenager”, scoffed Yunho dismissively. Great, now he was mocking Changmin’s writing!

“Maybe you just lack imagination”, shot back Changmin irritated.

“I have got plenty of imagination”, claimed Yunho with a goofy smile.

“Or maybe you have a hard time getting it up in general”, remarked Changmin feeling petty. Yunho scoffed at that.

“I have the quite the opposite problem around you”, Yunho mumbled.

“What”, asked Changmin not quite catching Yunho’s reply. Yunho started giggling softly once again.

“What”, asked Changmin confused.

“You write porn for a living”, Yunho said before he burst into his trademark embarrassed laughter.

Changmin so did not sign up for this shit. He pulled on Yunho’s hand a bit too hard as they approached his hotel.

 

* * *

 

 

As soon as they had arrived at Changmin’s suite. Changmin showed Yunho the couch, gave him dry towels, showed him where the extra blankets and pillows were and then immediately rushed to the bathroom to take a quick shower. He felt a bit like himself after he got out of the shower. He dried himself and applied body balm. He didn’t have a skincare routine that was too tedious because that would be difficult to maintain. He was so tired, he knew once he lied down, he was going to sleeping for ten hours straight. While he tied his bathrobe he decided he would just quickly check on Yunho before he hit the bed.

 

He stepped into the living room. The lights were on but Yunho was completely out on the couch. He literally seemed to have collapsed as soon as he found the couch. The biggest thing that irked Changmin was the fact that Yunho still had his shoes on. Granted, there were other things like the fact that Yunho hadn’t dried himself at all and that his sling bag had been thrown carelessly on the floor. But shoes on the couch! No, Changmin just couldn’t go to sleep with that knowledge.

 

“Fuck it”, Changmin cursed and took off both of Yunho’s shoes for him and set them near the entrance. He almost tripped over the Yunho’s bag so he placed it on the end table. He saw the book peek out of chains. Of course, Yunho didn’t zip up the bags properly! However, that reminded Changmin of the fact that Yunho never did get the book signed. A mischief formed in Changmin’s mind as he grabbed the pen on the end table. He smirked as he signed the book and left a little message for Heechul. He re-read his message, satisfied he put the book back in and zipped the bag.

 

He then retrieved the dry towels, extra pillow and blanket. He unzipped Yunho’s hoodie quickly and took it off. Thankfully, the hoodie had prevented Yunho’s inner tee from being soaked. He quickly dabbed Yunho’s neck and hands with the dry towel trying not to leer at how amazing Yunho’s pecs looked with the too small and worn tee stretched across it.

 

Changmin looked down south and contemplated if he should take off Yunho’s pants as well. They were wet, they would be uncomfortable. But Changmin didn’t want to take any liberties. However, wet clothes on a couch irked him too much. He sighed and decided to throw caution to the wind. He unbuttoned Yunho’s jeans and then unzipped them, all the while trying not to feel like a pervert. He dearly hoped that Yunho didn’t wake up while he was doing this because that would be too awkward to explain. He quickly got rid the jeans, pointedly not looking at Yunho’s crotch, and laid them out alongside the hoodie to dry out.

 

He quickly glanced at Yunho and almost burst into laughter when he noticed the pearl red boxers that the Alpha was wearing. They were hideous, how could anyone own them much less wear them ? He surreptitiously admired Yunho’s thighs, they looked sturdy. Gosh, it was so unfair that someone who spent most of his time sitting on an ergonomic chair had such an enviable body as well! The dude literally seemed to have come out from Mills & Boons, too perfect. Changmin shook his head as he covered Yunho with a blanket.

 

He carefully supported Yunho’s head as he put a pillow with a dry towel on top to deal with Yunho’s wet hair. He then laid Yunho’s head down on the pillow. He softly dabbed on Yunho’s face to wipe the water droplets on them without disturbing Yunho’s slumber. He then slowly rubbed the towel against whatever little damp hair he could reach. He then softly tried to finger comb them backwards. Yunho let out a low moan, his hands blindly groping and finding Changmin’s waist. Changmin froze.

A smile slowly spread across Yunho’s face and then he whispered, “Hojun..”

Changmin pulled back like he had just been burnt. He put the towels away, all the while NOT wondering who Hojun was. As he lied on his bed, he told himself he didn’t care who Hojun was nor did he care enough to find out.


	9. Chapter Nine

_Yunho was surrounded by a pile of paperwork in his office. It confused Yunho, he was never one to leave things up to the last minute so it didn’t make sense that he had so much work to catch up on. Suddenly, the door was thrown open and Changmin entered wearing sunglasses inside. Yunho couldn’t decide what was stranger, the fact that Changmin just barged into his office or the fact that he was wearing sunglasses inside._

_When Changmin turned and locked the door from the inside, Yunho couldn’t help but voice his bewilderment._

_“Changdol”, he exclaimed slightly alarmed._  

_“I can’t take it anymore”, said Changmin with some frustration, tossing the sunglasses away._

_“What ? What’s happening”, egged on Yunho trying to figure out why the Omega seemed upset._

_“Look, I know we both have been busy with work but it’s ridiculous that we share a bed every night and still can’t find the time to fuck”, said Changmin taking off his trench coat._

_Yunho was dumbfounded, he didn’t even get a chance to process what the Omega had said because he was too busy gawking at him. Changmin didn't seem to be wearing anything underneath._

_The Omega’s beautiful broad chest was on display. And God, his nipples were hard. Yunho was aware that his breathing had become a bit faster. Yunho wanted to look away for the sake of decency but that was impossible. Changmin’s body was like a sculpture from the Renaissance period. He was distracted by Changmin’s hand trailing down south._

_Yunho’s eyes bugged out as Changmin started unbuttoning his jeans. What in the world was happening!_

_“Are you just gonna sit there”, asked Changmin as he stepped out of his jeans impatiently._

_Yunho opened his mouth but words just would not come out. However, his dick was onboard with the whole thing. Shit, he was getting hard! Yunho quickly glanced at his crotch to check if it was obvious._

_“Just take your pants off”, demanded Changmin impatiently as he walked up to Yunho._

_“What”, exclaimed Yunho, unable to keep panic out of his voice._

_Changmin smirked as he noticed the obvious tent in Yunho’ s pant. He immediately straddled Yunho before Yunho could even think of bolting. Yunho’s hands automatically went to Changmin’s waist to steady him._

_Changmin leaned closer and brought his lips close to Yunho’s ears._

_“Or do you want to keep your clothes on and have me all naked? Just your cock out of your pants, in me”, Changmin whispered seductively while palming Yunho’s cock with purpose. Yunho closed his eyes and took deep breaths trying to resist the siren’s call._

_He felt Changmin move away from his ears. But then suddenly, he felt the Omega’s soft lips move against his own. Yunho couldn’t help but tighten his hold on Changmin’s waist in response. As soon as Yunho started responding back, the Omega bit his lower lip. And soon, used his tongue to soothe out the sting. Yunho’s cock jumped at that. Changmin smirked against his lips as he felt that too._

_It’s been building up, hasn’t it”, Changmin whispered against his lips giving Yunho’s cock a light squeeze. And that was it, Yunho grabbed Changmin’s ass with both his hands and pulled him flush against himself. Changmin moaned as their cocks pressed up against each other. Yunho took the opportunity to shove his tongue inside his mouth. And Changmin, he gave him as good as he got._

_He felt Changmin unbuttoning his pants and then slowly unzipping them. Yunho rubbed up against Changmin to get them both even more aroused. His hand slipped inside Changmin’s boxers. Yunho’s fingers trailed along the Omega’s crack till he found what he was looking for. He rubbed his fingers against the hole a bit. Changmin tightened his hold on Yunho’s shoulder in response. When Yunho inserted one of his fingers, he felt a gush of slick sliding out. Changmin was digging his nails into Yunho’s shoulder by now. Fuck, that was hot!_

_“Mmmphh...”, Yunho moaned before he before he broke the kiss. Changmin looked at him confused, his pupils widened with arousal._

_“You are wet”, Yunho said seductively looking into Changmin’s eyes before he slid his finger all the way in. Changmin twisted and gasped in pleasure._

_“Just the thought of coming all the way here only to have sex with you in your office, got me so hot”, Changmin managed to say before he gasped again. Yunho had added another finger._

_“Everyone will know what we were doing behind closed doors”, muttered Changmin as Yunho started scissoring him. Yunho just hoped that he wouldn’t pop his knot before he got inside Changmin. God, Changmin was headier than any alcohol._

_Soon, Yunho pulled his fingers out which resulted in a whine from Changmin. He lifted Changmin off the chair and laid him out on his table. Yunho raised Changmin’s legs and placed them on his shoulders._

_“Even if they don't, they will when I walk out of here”, Changmin trailed off as Yunho slid his underwear down his legs and then tossed it away carelessly._

_Changmin smirked and trailed his right feet down from where it was perched against Yunho’s shoulder and then used his toe to rub against Yunho’s nipple through his shirt._

_“Limping, your cum still dripping out from me, your scent , your claim all over me”, he continued knowing that each of his word was making the Alpha slowly lose control._

_Yunho hurriedly brought Changmin’s legs around his waist. He then bent and then went to town on Changmin’s cock. Licking, sucking and doing his special trick with his tongue that always got his partners begging._

_“Ahh... Yunho... Fuck”, gasped Changmin in pleasure, tossing his head left and right. He felt too sensitive. His chest heaving, his thighs quivering. He had to bite his lips to keep from screaming. Because, they were in Yunho’s office after all._

_He felt Yunho’s fingers breach him and a loud moan escaped from his mouth. Yunho seemed to find the spot he was looking for. As he pressed his fingers against it, Changmin almost jolted up. The only thing that kept him pinned to the table was Yunho’s strong hold on his waist, pressing him down._

_Then, Yunho took him all the way in his mouth and Changmin lost it. He tapped on Yunho’s hand that was on his waist, furiously to let him know that he was close. Yunho pulled back in time to catch most of Changmin’s cum across his chest and some hitting his chin. The bastard that he was, he kept relentlessly pressing up on Changmin’s prostate the whole time. Soon after Changmin had come, he squirted too, the heavy release of slick was now running down his thighs. Changmin was exhausted, he felt like he had run a marathon, his toes were still curled trying to ride out the extreme sensitiveness after two orgasms so close by._

_Yunho couldn’t wipe off the smug smile from his face. The Alpha in him was preening as he was able to sate his mate’s needs. Changmin looked so devastatingly beautiful like this, exhausted by orgasms, glowing with the sweat they had worked up._

_Changmin licked his lips eyeing Yunho’s engorged cock now freed from the confines of his underwear. He was exhausted, could not move but damn did he want it!_

_Yunho trailed his hand up Changmin’s inner thigh to gather some of the slick that Changmin had just squirted, his hind brain absently noting how squirting before breeding would increase the chances of Omega conceiving. Changmin moaned at the touch as he was still feeling too sensitive. Yunho smeared the slick on his cock. He raised Changmin’s legs and putting them on his shoulders. He bent forward and slid right in..._

 

Yunho felt a sharp pain on one side of his body. He opened his eyes and found himself on the floor. Did he pass out on the floor or something, he wondered. He tried to sit up and immediately felt disoriented. He held his head for a bit. After a while, when he felt much steadier he surveyed his surroundings. It looked like he was in some kind of suite but he didn’t recognize the place at all. He tried to think of the last thing he remembered about last night. He vaguely remembered Changmin asking him crash at his place. He must have passed out as soon as he arrived at the suite.

His eyes fell on the couch which had pillows and blankets on it. So, he probably didn’t pass out on his floor. Judging by the throbbing pain on side, he must have fallen out of the couch. And what a time to wake up just when...

He immediately looked at his crotch, he was in his boxers and they left nothing to imagination. There it was, standing proud and erect. Yunho immediately grabbed the blanket and covered himself worrying that Changmin might walk in anytime.

He stood up slowly with the blanket covering his crotch, he walked towards the bathroom, hoping that Changmin wasn’t in there. Thankfully, he wasn’t. Cold shower, it was for Yunho.

 

* * *

 

 

Yunho stood under the cold blast of water, his erection was flagging. He sighed, absolutely disappointed in himself. He was almost 30 years old, he should be past wet dreams.

Now that he could think properly, the dream was basically a re-enactment of a scene of Changmin’s book that Yunho had read previously. Seriously, that book was becoming the bane of his existence. This was so humiliating!

He began shivering a bit due to the cold water. He checked that his problem had been taken care of so he turned the water back to hot. He started to reflect on the fact that it had been so strange to meet Changmin here of all places. But that being said, Yunho did have a great time with Changmin last night, which was even stranger. Because, him and Changmin were quite opposite. Yunho liked to talk but Changmin hated talking unless he was nagging or arguing.  However, there were some aspects of Changmin’s nature that Yunho had come to appreciate.

Like the fact that, Changmin’s ears turned red whenever he was embarrassed. And also the baffling fact that for someone so stunning and conceited, as Yunho remembered from their first meeting, Changmin was too self conscious.

Changmin’s nagging was mostly a result of genuine concern. He did nag Yunho for getting drunk but he also very kindly kept feeding him food from his own plate. He even took care of him when he was stumbling around drunk. There was definitely kindness in Changmin but it wouldn’t be easily visible to people who didn’t spend time with him. But was that necessarily a good thing ? Was being kind, something to be ashamed of ?

It had been a long time since someone had taken care of Yunho. Usually, it was the other way round. At work, he always wanted to come across as a strong leader. There were so many people who relied on him, he couldn’t afford to show any weakness. Even in his last relationship, he always portrayed himself as a hero, trying to sweep So Young off her feet. A perfect boyfriend and a reliable would-be husband. He never talked about his bouts of insomnia. Disguising the fact he couldn’t fall asleep by working overtime, to show that its the work kept him up.

Ultimately, it had driven So Young away. The only person who he had let in and who had seen his weakness was Hojun. He was Yunho’s senior when Yunho was in college. At that time Yunho was miserable, in the middle of inventing something big while trying to get a degree. Whatever scarce money he had from scholarship, he used it as an investment on his invention; skipping meals, living on ramen and energy drinks, not going back home on breaks because he couldn’t afford the trip and he was too prideful to have his parents pay for it.

Hojun had tried to help him first with the money which had offended Yunho. Then, he had tried to buy him food as a senior which Yunho had told him that it made him feel like a charity case. Hojun then tried to cook him food rather than buy him food, to respect Yunho’s feelings on the matter. But Yunho still rejected it. Hojun just snapped one day and told Yunho that there was no shame in taking help because everyone needed help at some point of their lives. Yunho was in a low point in his life now but he wasn’t going to stay at that forever, he was bound to hit a high point at sometime. And, Hojun just couldn’t sit and watch Yunho perish at a low point and not make it through to his high point. All of it because of some stupid notion of manly pride. He asked if Yunho would think low of him if he ever asked for his help. And that was the kicker, that was a perspective Yunho had never considered.

Yunho was always ready to help friends but somehow when he was in their shoes, he felt like the act of asking for help was lowly. And that truly was hypocritical, wasn’t it ? Hojun was the man who taught Yunho that it was ok not to be the hero all the time. He broke through Yunho’s defenses with his relentless efforts, care and his kind heart. It was inevitable that Yunho fell for him so hard. Anyone would fall for Hojun!

 

Last night, the way Changmin took care of him was the way Hojun would take of him back when they were still together. Albeit, with much less nagging and more sweet words. Yunho turned off the shower and grabbed a towel to dry himself.

Were they similar, he wondered as he dried himself. Maybe just the inherent kindness. But the similarity ended there. Hojun was someone Yunho would fall in love with , a hundred times over. Whereas Changmin was just someone he would be ok with marrying because he knew that he could never fall for someone like him and hence save himself  from the eventual disappointment that followed all of his romantic relationships.

 

* * *

 

Changmin woke up to a knock on his door. Changmin thought of ignoring it. He glanced at the clock and it read 12pm. Shit, he had a flight to catch in 2 hours!  

Changmin sat up on his bed with a sigh.

“Delivery”, he heard muffled voice from behind the door. Changmin tsked in frustration, he hoped it wasn’t a delivery from the creepy guy at the fan-sign. He wouldn’t put it past the creep to have tracked down his suite.

Changmin stepped out of the bed and walked gingerly towards the living room.

From there, he shouted, “You can leave it by the door” hoping that his voice would reach the delivery guy.

“As you wish, sir”, he heard the reply.

Changmin sighed and then lied down on the vacant couch, it had looked very inviting what with the pillows and blankets already on it.

Changmin surveyed the room and noticed that Yunho’s belongings were missing. The Alpha must have made a quiet exit. It’s not like Changmin was disappointed or anything but at least Yunho could texted a short ‘thank you’. Seems like his courtesy only extended to blushing maidens who were head over heels for the Alpha. Changmin scoffed as he sat up on the couch, some niggling part of his brain was arguing that he was the one who the shut the Alpha down whenever he tried to do anything remotely chivalrous. Whatever, it was common decency to thank someone when they took care of you!

Changmin got up from the couch and opened the door to distract himself from the thoughts of the Alpha. There was a package left there with a note on it. Changmin sighed a breath of relief, at least it wasn’t a bouquet as he had expected.

There was small card stuck on top of it. Curious, Changmin, opened it.

_‘Figured, you would appreciate this more than flowers_

_\- Jung Yunho’_

 

Changmin huffed, if anyone wanted to cast a leading man for Jane Austen’s adaptation, Jung Yunho was their man! Changmin took the package inside and close the door. He placed it on the end table and opened the ridiculous red ribbon wrapped around it. He removed the cover to reveal a carefully packaged helping of Oden. Changmin’s eyes widened, man he really could go for some hot pot right now. He rushed to place the food on simmer. By the time he would be done with brushing and showering, the Oden would have boiled to perfection. Maybe, Jung Yunho was an alright guy, after all!

 

* * *

 

 

While he was enjoying the simmering hot pot, he hummed happily and decided to check his phone. He was surprised to see a text from 'Pabo'. He smirked and opened it up.

 

_Pabo: I know I said that I would wait for your answer. But do I really have to wait that long ?_

 

Changmin felt a little bittersweet as he typed out the response. He would be lucky to land a guy like Jung Yunho. There was a big chance that this wouldn't work out for them. And, now he would miss seeing around, just a bit.

_Is there something your Grandmother likes ? It would be rude to show up without any gifts_

Changmin continued eating after casually dropping the bomb. He didn't expect Yunho to get respond because the man seemed to be perpetually busy. But after a while, he heard his message ringtone go off. Sure enough, there was a message from Yunho.

 

_Pabo: So, you are saying yes_

 

Changmin shook his head, if the Alpha thought he was going to make Changmin say the word then he could keep waiting forever.

"Have a nice trip", typed out Changmin and tossed his phone away. He got busy packing up for his return. After he was done with packing and a quick re-check, he checked his phone once again. Another message from Yunho.

 

_Pabo: Just admit it, I made your heart flutter_

 

Changmin scoffed at that, he knew the Alpha had texted the message just to get a reaction out of him.

“Go easy on the cheese, would you", he fired off before heading to checkout. As he dragged his bags out of his suite. Soon, his phone went off again.

 

_Pabo: It's what you just signed on for, Changdolah_

 

Changmin rolled his eyes and decided not to text Yunho back.

 

* * *

 

Yunho opened the door with dread in his heart to let a suspicious looking Heechul in.

"Hyung, this is such a surprise. You never drop by my home", Yunho exclaimed knowing exactly why Heechul was here.

"I wouldn't have to if you wouldn't have ignored me the whole day after you got back from Tokyo", shot back Heechul not mincing his words.

"Ahhh... you know I had so much work to catch up with", Yunho explained, nervously touching the back of his head.

"Sure, where's my book", asked Heechul not interested in any of his excuses.

"Umm... book", Yunho pretended to not know what Heechul was referring to.

"You fucking missed the fansign, did you", accused Heechul.

"No. I was there", defended Yunho fervently.

"Fine, then get me the book", demanded Heechul, having lost his patience.

Yunho opened his mouth to explain but Heechul just extended his hand waiting for the book instead. Clearly, he didn't want to hear anything until he got his book.

Yunho went to his still unpacked bag and pulled out the book. How was he going to explain himself ? He doubted Heechul would believe the fact that his revered Chami-chan was Changmin. And, on top of that Yunho had angered him by insulting his work so there was no way that he could have turned around and asked for an autograph after that.

He handed over the book and waited for Heechul to scratch his eyes out. Heechul opened the front page and paused. He looked surprised which made Yunho curious because he thought that Heechul had already deduced that he had failed to get an autograph so there was nothing to be surprised about.

"So, you made it after all. Why were you acting so sketchy", asked Heechul utterly confused as he turned the book towards Yunho. There was a message and a sign on it. Changmin had actually saved him, somehow!

"I really was busy", replied Yunho in the lieu of a weak explanation.

"You are acting all shifty, I can't trust you. Tell me about Chami-sensei", demanded Heechul.

"What do you mean", asked Yunho confused. How would Heechul know anything about 'Chami-sensei' to judge if Yunho was telling the truth or not.

"Tell me how did she look? What did you guys chat about? I will decide if you are lying or not", said Heechul crossing his arms.

"You do realize, this is not a court", said Yunho with a laugh, trying to deter Heechul from his interrogation.

"You faked the sign, I knew it", exclaimed Heechul.

"Of course, not. How could you say that", shot back Yunho at Heechul's outrageous claim.

"Well, there's no other reason why you would keep dodging my question", reasoned Heechul.

Yunho scoffed and went on a rant,

"First of all, your precious Chami-sensei is a guy. And pretty, pretty as a picture. Half of the fans must have been foaming at their mouth when they laid their eyes on him"

"Prettier than me", Heechul slipped in the question slyly. Yunho felt a bit tongue-tied because Changmin was the prettiest in his eyes but he realized that Heechul was evaluating him and he couldn't reveal that.

"Of course, not", Yunho waved off.

"You had to think. That pretty, huh", Heechul smirked, completely on to Yunho. Yunho just shrugged in response.

"Fine, I will let you off the hook. Most of it matches what fans were talking on the forum. Apparently, they had a strict 'no pictures' rule so I can't judge Chami-sensei, myself", rambled on Heechul. Yunho sighed in relief, dodged a bullet there.

"What did he write on this, though", asked Heechul extending the book to Yunho. Heechul couldn't really read Kanji. He always bought the translations but because the fansign was only for people who bought the original japanese edition, Heechul had just bought it anyway.

Yunho skeptically eyed the book and then read it aloud,

_"To Heechul,_

_You have great taste unlike your friend, here"_

"Hmmm... passive aggressive", remarked Heechul. He eyed Yunho suspiciously and then asked, "You argued with him, didn't you"

Yunho's shoulders went up in a defensive posture, "I might have told him that his book lacked substance"

"What is wrong with you ? You can't walk into someone's fansign and offend them", said Heechul appalled by Yunho's behavior.

"Hey, he called me a prude", Yunho defended.

"Well, he was right", Heechul shot back.

"Spare me, you got your sign, can we just call it a win", said Yunho throwing his hands up in exhaustion.

"You are lucky you are pretty, there would be no other reason why he would sign the book even after you offended him", said Heechul snatching the book back.

Yunho shook his head at the whole drama and went to get a beer for Heechul. When he returned to the living room, Heechul had already made himself comfortable on the couch.

"About your Grandparents’ anniversary", began Heechul taking the beer from Yunho. God, Yunho thought he was done being interrogated that night. Apparently, Heechul was just getting started.

"So, you are taking Ara as your date, right ? You work fast, man. Already introducing her to the family", said Heechul as he took a swig of the beer.

"I am not taking Ara as my date", clarified Yunho, confused why Heechul would assume that.

"I saw the guest list. She was in there", shot back Heechul amused.

"So ? Siwon is on the guest-list, too. I am just making this a big deal because you know my grandmother always wanted the grandeur. She wanted to meet all the stars, mingle with the royals. So, I thought this would be a good opportunity. Besides, it would be a good opportunity to build more connections", explained Yunho stretching out on the other couch.

"Hmm... you sure she knows that this is 'strictly business'", asked Heechul using air quotes.

"I sent the invite via her PA, that's as formal as it gets", defended Yunho.

Heechul shrugged and replied, "I don't know if you read the entertainment magazines and all. But while you were in Tokyo, they published something about you and Ara"

Yunho had no idea what Heechul was getting at. Heechul sighed at the poor, oblivious Yunho.

"It was the same thing about you and Ara spending time with each other. Pictures from when you guys probably had dinner together with her friends or something. But at the end of it, it said that sources close to Ara had confirmed that you two were dating", Heechul said with a wince.

"All of this is trash", said Yunho sitting up on the couch, enraged.

"I am just saying something like that wouldn't make it to the paper unless someone from Ara's PR approved it", added Heechul with some gravitas.

"Someone probably acted without consulting Ara", insisted Yunho.

"Could be. But honestly, Ara isn't a bad option at all. Business-wise, it would be an ideal match. You could ask her to be your date, it's not too late", said Heechul casually.

"I can't. I already have a date", revealed Yunho looking away from Heechul.

Heechul was far too amused. "Really, now? This I need to know", said Heechul as he perked up.

"Changmin", said Yunho meeting Heechul's eyes.

"You have got to be kidding me", exclaimed Heechul.

Yunho shrugged and said, "We worked out things between us, he agreed to meet my family"

"Wow, do you have a magic dick or something ? You sleep with him once and now he is ready to play house with you? What next, you are gonna tell me that he wants to have your babies too", Heechul went off.

"I told you, we never slept together", Yunho shot back.

"Sure", Heechul shot back sarcastically.

 

* * *

 

Changmin came out from his mother's room. They had just returned from one of his mother's appointment. She looked so tired and weak when she had come out of her treatment. The doctor assured Changmin though that she seemed to be responding well. Changmin wanted to believe in it but it just hurt so much to see his mother in this condition.

They were also coming up close on the payment for the next phase of treatment, Changmin didn't have much time. He would have to accept someone's proposal in a week or two. He climbed down the stairs to the living room. Their family dog, Mangdoongie, a white maltese bounded towards him. Changmin picked her up and cooed at her. Mangdoongie pawed at him. She must be feeling a little left out because his mother couldn't play with her a lot. And, usually Changmin dropped by a lot but he had been out for a week so Mangdoongie was feeling clingy now that Changmin was back. Changmin scratched her ears affectionately and she went completely lax.

"Oh, so you finally decided to show up", Changmin turned to look at his father, who looked disappointed and angry. Thankfully, Changmin was immuned to that by now.

"Don't worry, your golden goose hasn't fled", said Changmin in lieu of a greeting.

"What are you playing at", confronted Changmin's father.

"What", asked Changmin confused, what could he have possibly done in the time that he was not in the country to offend his father. Mangdoongie seemed to have gotten a read on the mood and started pawing at Changmin, in her own way trying to soothe Changmin.

"Don't think I didn't know about the stunt you pulled. You returned Siwon's gift! That is as good as rejecting his proposal. And in which world do you think you are in a position to reject someone like him? You couldn't even get a man like him if you had all the money in this world", Changmin's father went off.

Changmin cringed just remembering the so-called 'gift' that Siwon had sent along with the proposal. A diamond choker to flex his wealth and the fact that he intended to chain Changmin into a relationship. It had angered Changmin so much. Under normal circumstances, Changmin would have thrown it in his smug face. But these weren't normal circumstances so he had to settle with a polite message saying that he felt uncomfortable accepting that expensive of a 'gift' from him.

"I couldn't possibly start accepting gifts from him when I haven't even decided on marrying him", countered Changmin.

"What's there to decide? Maybe if you haven't sabotaged your chances with Jung Yunho, you would probably have had a choice", retorted his father, his voice rising.

Changmin tried not to get into an argument so he kept his mouth shut.

"You can keep thinking that I am your enemy. But, I will do what I think is the best for you as your father. Siwon is the only person from all the proposals who would treat you with some respect. I don't care if you can't see it but I know when people have good intentions. And, Siwon is one of the good people", said Changmin's father trying to get through to him.

Changmin tried really hard not to roll his eyes at his father's whole spiel about Siwon's character.

"Of course, you know all about Siwon", Changmin shot back with derision.

"You can be difficult about it as much as you want but you will be marrying Siwon", said Changmin's father with an air of finality.

He started to walk away when Changmin said, "Give me a week"

Changmin's father halted and looked at him suspiciously, "Why ? So that you can run away"

"I could run away anytime I wanted to, Dad. I am just asking you for a week before you decide the rest of life", countered Changmin seething.

"Do whatever you want. I will be accepting Siwon's proposal, next week", warned his father before he walked off.

Changmin was left utterly distraught. Mandoongie licked his face to get his attention.  Changmin absently patted her, feeling absolutely numb. It wasn't like he wasn't prepared to be married off to someone who he didn't approve of. But now that he was getting closer to the inevitable, he felt slapped by the cold, harsh reality.

He was stupid to have given himself any hope. What did he hope to achieve in a week ? Why would Yunho's family approve of someone who was clearly marrying their son for his wealth ? His phone went off. Changmin bent down and placed Mangdoongie back on the floor. He took out his phone from his pocket, there was a message from Yunho.

 

_Pabo: See you at 7, tomorrow_

 

Changmin wondered if he should just cut his losses, at this point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah this one started off with a bang *grins at the bad pun*. I am always so grateful for the comments, they cheer me up so much! I will definitely reply to all the comments from the last chapter. Also, thank you everyone who hits the kudos button. Hope everyone has a great weekend!


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I am way too late! RL has been booping me but I finally managed to get a chapter out. I could have posted it earlier but I decided not to leave yall on a cliffhanger so the chapter got too big. Hope this makes up for me being late. I will have to move the weekly updates to Sunday morning coz I feel like I need the whole of Saturday to finish up the chapter. And a big big thank you to everyone who are still reading this fic. We are halfway done. Yay!

Yunho glanced at the entrance umpteenth time expecting Changmin to turn up any minute. It was stupid, the Omega had told that he would text him once he had reached the venue.

“Oooh..I don't see your date here, Jung Yunho-ssi”

Yunho turned in the direction of the familiar taunting voice to encounter a gleeful Heechul.

“It's still early”, replied Yunho promptly.

“So, when is his royal highness arriving”, egged on Heechul.

“He texted me when he was leaving his home. Should be here, soon”, Yunho replied checking his watch.

“You know, usually people bring their dates with them. They don't just arrive separately”, Heechul remarked slyly, trying to get more out of Yunho.

“I am hosting the party, of course I have to come here earlier than anyone”, defended Yunho.

“Valid point. Still, doesn't make a good impression if say, her highness, Ara is here and your ‘date’ is still MIA”, Heechul remarked glancing in the direction where Jihye and her husband were holding a conversation with Ara.

Yunho was feeling a bit antsy. There was definitely something up with Changmin. He had not replied to Yunho's text last night. Yunho even tried to think of what he could have possibly said or done to offend the Omega but he could not come up with anything. Changmin hadn't contacted him until few minutes ago to just inform him when he would be arriving. For a moment, Yunho even irrationally worried that Changmin might have gotten cold feet.  
His phone went off, there was a new message. He opened it eagerly,

_Bambi: Here. At the parking lot. Should I wait for you or go in?_

"Is he cancelling, after all", teased Heechul as Yunho was reading the text.

Yunho rolled his eyes at Heechul and then excused himself to call Changmin. Changmin picked up almost immediately.

“Changminah, where are you parked at”, asked Yunho.

Heechul raised his brow at the use of the nickname. Yunho decided to ignore it and concentrate on the directions that Changmin was giving him through the phone.

“Stay right there. I will come and get you”, Yunho said before he hung up.

“Well, at least he showed up”, remarked Heechul sarcastically.

Yunho tried not to show how relieved he was that Changmin had made it after all. He walked towards the parking lot with quick footsteps. It was very easy to spot Changmin, the Omega was a tall drink of water. As he approached the Omega, he noticed that Changmin had straightened his hair, his long bangs side-swept yet were loosely falling onto his eyes. Changmin moved his head to flip his bangs back to their place; a truly beautiful sight.  
But when he came face to face with the Omega, he immediately realized that something was wrong.

“What's wrong”, asked Yunho worried

“Why”, retorted Changmin confused.

“Your eyes are swollen”, replied Yunho forming a round shape with his hands near both of his eyes. Changmin might have found that a bit cute.

“I didn't think it was that bad”, Changmin remarked feeling a bit self conscious.

Yunho was quick to jump and defend, “No, you look fine. I was just...”

He trailed off as he wasn't sure how to phrase his question. He knew Changmin was very sensitive about his mother's health issues and his financial issues. He was sure to blow up if Yunho directly asked about it. So, he phrased the question in vague terms,

“Everything’s fine at home, right”

“Yeah, just had trouble sleeping last night. No big deal”, Changmin waved him off.

His tense shoulders gave him away but Yunho wasn't going to go digging for it. Changmin would only share his troubles when he was well and truly ready for it. He started walking towards the entrance and Changmin followed him.

“You are not worried about meeting my family, are you”, Yunho asked trying to keep his tone casual. He had to tread carefully around a tensed Changmin.

“I am”, Changmin replied with some gravitas in his voice. Yunho paused and looked at Changmin to gauge his mood.

“But I am not losing sleep over it or anything”, Changmin immediately covered up now that Yunho's complete attention was on him.

Yunho couldn't help but want to soothe the Omega but he knew that wouldn't go over well. So, he turned and continued walking.

  
When they reached the main entrance, Yunho offered his arm to Changmin. Changmin hesitated for a bit, a small frown on his face like he was deep in thought. As Yunho was about to give up, Changmin caught his arm and linked his own together. Yunho looked at Changmin a bit surprised and amused. Changmin raised a brow in response asking Yunho to just get on with it.

They entered the room arm-in-arm. Yunho could hear the hushed silence that fell on the room as soon as they entered. As they passed a few people, the murmurs started.

“Isn't that the Duke’s son”

“He never shows up without his father”

“What's Yunho doing with a brat like him”

“Look at him chumming up to Yunho”

“Say whatever you want, what a beauty”

“You see, God blessed him with a face so it was fair that they are being stripped off their wealth”

“Hope Yunho has better sense than to fall for the wiles of a gold digger like him”

“God, I would forsake all my wealth to be with that Omega. Look at him strutting”

Yunho paused he was about to turn around and give everyone a piece of his mind when Changmin tugged at him.

“Keep walking”, he said sharply.

“Nobody should have to put up with this”, argued Yunho.

Changmin rolled his eyes at that and said, “It's not like they aren't telling the truth”

Yunho looked at Changmin like he was disappointed with him. Well, if Yunho thought Changmin was going to respond to idle gossip like these, he was mistaken. Changmin had developed a high resistance to rude comments. Rejecting the many suitors his father had been throwing at him for the past year or so had earned him a lot of flak. He had been called all kinds of thing. When his own father had repeatedly labelled him as arrogant and ungrateful, other people's opinion hardly affected him. Yunho gently pulled away from Changmin and turned around. He walked to the center of the room.

"Excuse me", Yunho greeted everyone with a polite bow. Everyone went silent. He then addressed to the entire room with an unshakable voice,

"I am very grateful that everyone took the time out from their schedule to grace this occasion. All I ask of you is to be polite and respectful of everyone. Today is a happy occasion for my family and the last thing I want is any one have a bad experience here"

Changmin wanted to face-palm, some people were bound to get offended no mater how good Yunho's intentions were.

"Thank you for your co-operation. I hope you all have a great time", Yunho ended with a 90 degree bow. Now, the murmurs had completely stopped. Changmin did appreciate that but at what cost.

Changmin shook his head at Yunho when he walked back to join him.

"Was that necessary", asked Changmin in a whisper as Yunho came close to him

"It was", Yunho replied sharply with conviction.

"Yundol", a voice interrupted them. Changmin turned to notice an elderly couple in front of them. They seemed to be in high spirits. Changmin guessed that they would be Yunho's grandparents.

"Is this Changmin", the elderly lady exclaimed. Changmin eyes widened a bit, did Yunho already show them his pictures or something.

"Yes", Yunho replied with a smile.

The elderly lady seemed to be tickled by Yunho answer and said, "We are Yunho's grandparents. Just putting it out there. People have been confusing us for his parents"

Changmin couldn't help but smile at the joke as he gave them a 90 degree bow.

"What a pretty smile", exclaimed Yunho's grandmother.

Yes, yes it was, Yunho echoed the sentiment in his mind as felt his heart swelling up with pride.

Yunho's grandmother suddenly moved to pat Yunho on his shoulders and said, "I totally approve. Your kids are going to hit the lottery in the gene pool"

Changmin was pretty sure that the horror was visible on his face. Thankfully, Yunho's grandmother wasn't looking at him. Yunho let out his trademark embarrassed laugh in response.

"Pipe down a bit", Yunho's grandfather urged his wife trying to inject some sanity into the proceedings.

But Yunho's grandmother would not be stopped.

"What ? I was only stating the fact. Look at them", she urged.

Her hands suddenly came close to both Yunho and Changmin.

She smushed their faces together and remarked, "What a beautiful pair! The world would be jealous"

"Alright, enough. Let them go. We need to greet others too", said Yunho's grandfather as he pulled her away from them.

"Yundol-ah, marry him", she said before Yunho's grandfather guided her away from them.

"She's bit of a free spirit",Yunho said a little embarrassed, scrunching up his nose.

"She is sweet", Changmin replied with a kind smile. Yunho noticed some guests arriving at the entrance.

He turned to Changmin and said, "I need to greet some guests. Will you be ok by yourself"

"Of course, you are not my chaperon. Go, be the host", Changmin waved him off.

He looked at Changmin for a bit like he was about to say something. Internally, Yunho was feeling bad about leaving Changmin alone but it wasn't practical. When Changmin looked at him inquisitively, Yunho decided not to voice his reluctance and walked off.

Changmin wondered what Yunho would have wanted to tell him. As he turned, he noticed a familiar figure. Siwon was standing at a distance staring at him. He slowly started inching towards him. Fuck, Changmin was so not in the mood to deal with him.

"Changmin-ssi"

Changmin turned in the direction of the voice to find Yunho's sister. He saw that Siwon started retreating once he noticed her. The lady was god sent.

"I am Jihye, Yunho's sister. I am not sure if you remember but we met a while ago", she said politely.

"Of course. I am sorry for that day", said Changmin still feeling a bit embarrassed about that day.

"Oh no, you don't have to be", Jihye was quick to defend.

"Omma", a small voice interrupted them. Changmin was surprised to find a toddler tugging at Jihye's leg.  
Jihye smiled at her and bent down to pick her up.

"Omma is talking to someone, Chae-ah", she explained to the kid.

"Who is he", asked the kid pointedly looking away from Changmin.

"Changmin-samcheon", promptly replied Jihye with a smile. It was very weird for Changmin to be referred to as an uncle. This was the first time.

"Cha..chami", the kid asked Jihye.

"Chang-min", said Jihye breaking down the pronunciation to make it easier for the kid.

"Cha-mi", repeated the kid.

Jihye laughed and said to Changmin, "It's hard for her"

"Tell him your name", Jihye egged the kid on.

The kid buried her face in Jihye's neck.

Jihye laughed again and said, "She is shy in front of strangers. This is my daughter, Eunchae"

"How old are you", Jihye asked Eunchae to get her to say something. Eunchae just looked at her blankly.

Changmin felt like a fish out of water. He couldn't even name one kid he knew of. He had just never spent any time around kids. He was an only child and none of his relatives were close so he never had to interact with a kid. Needless to say, he was very awkward around them.

Eunchae whispered something in her mother's ears.

Jihye looked a bit apologetic as she said, "Ah.. I am sorry but I have to take her to the restroom"

"Oh no, don't apologize. Go ahead", Changmin waved her off.

Once she was out of sight Changmin checked his phone. Had it really only been 15 minutes since he arrived ? Fuck, how long was he required to stay here?

"Changmin-ssi"

Oh great, Lady Ara! That's all he needed to spruce up his evening.

"Lady Ara", Changmin greeted her with a polite bow.

"Please, nobody addresses me like that. Just Ara is fine", said Ara as she bowed back.

"As you wish", Changmin replied. He felt awkward, he couldn't figure out what Ara could possibly want to from him.

"We have met in passing but I have never had a chance to really talk to you", Ara said conversationally. She was polite enough to omit that Changmin had probably scared her off from any interaction.

"I had no idea that you were friends with Yunho", she said coming to the crux of the matter.

Of course, it was about Yunho!

"More like an acquaintance", Changmin replied.

He purposefully did not specify how he knew Yunho because he was a shitty liar and Ara would see right through him.

"Still it was nice of Yunho to shut down all those people talking smack. Usually, I ignore things like that because I am scared that I might offend someone if I call them out. But Yunho did the right thing, not caring about ranks or anything. He's always been like that", Ara said with a fond smile

Look at her speaking like she has known Yunho forever! Her way of staking her claim on Yunho was subtle. Changmin vastly preferred it over the usual- "He's mine, stay away bitch" spiel.

"Yes, Yunho is... nice", said Changmin awkwardly not knowing what else to say in response.

"Changmin-ah", he heard Yunho's unmistakable bright voice. He saw Yunho approaching them.

"Ara", he greeted Ara with a polite bow.

He then turned to Changmin and asked,

"Do you want to dance"

"Huh", was all Changmin could reply. That was completely out of the blue.

Changmin noticed Yunho's grandmother and mother looking at them. They must have egged Yunho to ask him for a dance. Because after their disastrous first meeting, dance is kind of a sore point for them. An excuse was on the tip of his tongue, he wasn't that good of a dancer or the best one that he was feeling a bit under the weather. But Ara was fixedly looking at Yunho like she would give him the world if he asked for, ready to swoop in and pick up the pieces when Changmin ultimately smashes Yunho's hopes. Not today.

"I mean, yes", Changmin replied in a soft voice.

Yunho took Changmin's hand in his and slowly led them towards the dance floor. Changmin felt little butterflies in his stomach. It was definitely due to the prospect of dancing and not even remotely related to the fact that he was about to dance with Yunho. Changmin was a bad dancer, he hated it when he had to do partner dances. He almost always ended up stepping on his partner's foot.

"I thought you would say no", Yunho said when they were a safe distance away from Ara.

"Thought or hoped", retorted Changmin flipping his hair.

"Expected. But now", he paused to take Changmin's hand and wrap his other hand around the Omega's tiny waist.

"I get to dance with you", he said as he pulled Changmin closer to himself, their noses a hair's breadth away. As expected, Changmin refused to meet his eyes.

"You are taller, do you want to lead, instead", Yunho said and then proceeded to blow gently at Changmin's loose strands that had made their way back to his eyes. He could feel the shiver that went through the Omega's body at that.

Changmin took a few seconds to regain his composure and answered, "Just shut up and keep leading. Also, don't whine if I step on your foot. I am a shit-dancer so you really brought it on yourself"

"Clumsy like Bambi on ice", teased Yunho. Changmin stepped on his foot in response.

That must have hurt but he would have to give it to Yunho, he managed to keep a straight face through the pain.

"That was intentional", accused Yunho before he started to lead them into a slow waltz.

"No, I am just clumsy", replied Changmin cheekily. Yunho smirked at him in replied and started spinning both of them around.

"Absolutely no spinning", scolded Changmin feeling dizzy.

"Too late, we already are", shot back Yunho with a smirk.

"Jung Yunho, I swear", Changmin warned digging his nails into Yunho's shoulder.

Yunho abruptly came to a stop and Changmin almost fell on him. Their noses were touching now, their lips too close to each other.

"What", Yunho asked in a deep voice his eyes fixated on Changmin's lips.

Yunho's low voice was doing things to Changmin, he felt warm all over. Changmin was thankful that they had moved behind a pillar because they definitely looked downright scandalous now.

"Mind if I cut in", a voice made them break away from each other.

When Ara came into sight they had already put a respectable distance between them.

"Of course, not", Changmin said and walked off leaving behind a flustered Yunho and a confused Ara.

 

* * *

 

  
Changmin went to get himself a drink when he noticed Jongin sitting at the open bar and solemnly staring at his drink. Changmin waved his hands in front of him to get his attention.

"Ah Hyung", Jongin exclaimed startled.

"I didn't know you knew Jung Yunho", said Changmin taking the seat beside him.

"We made a huge deal with his company. They are helping us expand onto e-books and audio-books side of things", explained Jongin.

"How did I not know about this", exclaimed Changmin outraged at being kept out of the loop regarding his employer.

"We sent out an org-wide email about it", defended Jongin taking a sip of his drink.

The realization dawned on Changmin, "Ahh... those go straight to my Junk folder"

Jongin gave him an extremely judgmental look. Well, boohoo most of the company emails were boring and unrelated, Changmin equated them with spam.

"Anyway, strange to see you go solo", Changmin remarked with pursued lips.

"Taemin refused to join me", stated Jongin. That took Changmin by surprise.

"Taemin", Changmin asked scrunching up his nose in confusion.

"I thought you only ever showed up with suitable dates that your father set up for you", Changmin told Jongin frankly.

Jongin looked like he wanted to say something but words weren't coming out. Changmin took the time to order a drink.

"Hyung, what did Taemin tell you about my relation with him", Jongin finally asked.

"Trying to spy on him, very high school-ish of you", shot back Changmin accepting his drink from the bartender.

Meanwhile on the dance floor, Yunho's eyes were constantly gravitating towards Changmin. The Omega seemed to be engaged in a conversation with Kim Jongin. It was strange, Changmin never initiated any kind of interaction with someone he didn't know.

"You seem distracted", Ara remarked.

Yunho completely missed what Ara said because he was too busy trying to figure out how Jongin and Changmin could have known each other.

"Huh, sorry I am a bit distracted. It's the first time I am hosting something this huge", Yunho lied.

"Well, you have done a great job", said Ara as an encouragement. Yunho smiled back at her all the while thinking if he should ask Changmin about Jongin.

 

* * *

 

  
Jongin continued, "I am asking because you seemed surprised that I asked Taemin to be my date. Yet, that day back in the office you talked like you knew that we were together"

Well, Changmin couldn't really reveal that he knew enough about them to base a hit adult novel series on them and reap profits out of it. Thankfully, both Taemin and Jongin never checked out his Japanese publications.

"I was simply stating my observation. At company parties too, you show up with someone else even when Taemin attends", said Changmin trying to play it cool.  
Jongin seemed to be affected by his comment. He had visibly winced at that. Maybe Changmin had overstepped.

"I am trying to change that. But Tae...", Jongin trailed off trying to avoid getting onto too much details about them,

"He has been avoiding me for a week now", Jongin said simply and then proceeded to down his drink completely. He looked miserable.

It all made sense now. Taemin had looked so quiet and distracted when Changmin had met him after he had returned from Tokyo. Changmin decided something as he stood up from his chair.

"I will talk to him. Can't promise you anything, though", he told Jongin before he turned to leave.

"Hyung", Jongin's voice stopped him in his tracks. Changmin turned to look at Jongin.

"Thank You", said Jongin managing a small smile.

 

* * *

 

  
Changmin's luck ran out when he finally came face to face with Siwon near the snacks table. Changmin tried to just take the snacks and retrieve to his seat but Siwon followed him back.

"This must be killing you", Siwon remarked with a smirk.

"What", asked Changmin confused.

"Mingling with people. Taking a spin on the dance floor. I know you, Shim Changmin. Hell would freeze over before you stepped off your high horse to interact with mere mortals", said Siwon disdain dripping off his voice.

Changmin smirked at that and said, "It's nothing different than what everyone else has already deduced about me"

Siwon scoffed at that, "You haven't really changed. Back in college, you would strut around like you owned the whole place. Not caring that people fell for you left and right. Just dismissing everyone with one flick of your hair. Really, your past self would be reduced to tears if he saw you today"

"Very insightful", remarked Changmin nonchalantly.

"You returned my gift", said Siwon. Changmin shrugged indifferently at that.

"You know I could take offense to that and rescind my offer. Then, where will you be", asked Siwon with a smirk.

"That's something you don't have to worry about", retorted Changmin.

"That arrogance. You think by coming here and gracing Jung Yunho with your company would be enough for you to trap him ? You are sadly mistaken", Siwon added with a chuckle.

"I am guessing you know Yunho all too well for that", Changmin added sarcastically.

"He isn't taken in by the glitter, he has an eye for the real gold. That's what has made him the businessman that he is, today", said Siwon.

"So are you praising his judgement or undermining your own", Changmin couldn't help himself for taking the opportunity to diss the Earl.

"My judgement isn't clouded. I know who and what you are. Trust me, I am the only one who can handle you. No matter how flippant you have been towards me why did you think we ended up like this? There is no one who can put up with you, not even your parents", Siwon said with a leer.

The whole thing was disturbing and creepy. He had no idea how his father believed that Siwon was one of the 'good people'.

"Hmmm... interesting theory", Changmin said before he decided that he had enough of Siwon and turned to leave.

"Yunho is dating Lady Ara. They haven't made it official but they soon will. Yunho is only being polite to you. Just letting you know so that you can stop embarrassing yourself any further", Changmin heard Siwon say.

Changmin ignored him and walked away.

 

* * *

 

  
Yunho finally found sometime to comeback and introduce Changmin to his parents.

"Omma, Appa. This is Changmin", introduced Yunho. Changmin immediately bowed to them.

"Ahh, of course. Are you having a good time", asked Yunho's father politely.

"Yes, everything is so nice", Changmin replied with a smile.

"Have you eaten", asked Yunho's mother. Well, snacking wasn't equal to eating in Changmin's dictionary so, no.

"Not really", Changmin replied.

"You can join me then I was going to get some myself", added Yunho's mother enthusiastically.

 

* * *

  
Now that he was stuck alone with Yunho's mother he regretted saying that he hadn't eaten. He just knew he was going to get interrogated.

"Thank you", he said as Yunho's mother brought him some chopsticks.

"Don't mention it", she replied with a smile.

Changmin tried to stuff himself with food hoping that she won't start talking to him while they were eating.

"So, how long have you known Yunho", she asked casually. So much for the no talking during eating rule.

"A couple of months or so", replied Changmin covering his mouth with his hand.

"He didn't really tell us a lot about you so it gets me all curious", Yunho's mother continued.

"He mentioned about the arranged marriage proposal. You are so pretty, cultured, a royal. You must be getting a lot of proposals", asked Yunho's mother.

That was such a weird question. Changmin had no idea how to answer it so he just nodded in response.

"I am curious why you chose Yunho", asked Yunho's mother putting her chin on her hand.

Changmin felt extremely awkward. He mulled over the answer for a bit and then replied,

"He seemed nice and respectful when we first met"

Yunho's mother's mood seemed have been dampened by the answer. Changmin had no idea what could have gone wrong.

"Surely, there's more that you look for in a partner", she egged him on.

She was clearly expecting more that the one line answer he had provided her. But Changmin was at the end of his wits, it was easy to weave words together when writing but talking was a whole different thing.

"I guess", Changmin finally said with a shrug. He knew he lost some points there.

"Sorry, didn't mean to put you in a spot. It's just that Yunho hasn't dated anyone for a year and suddenly he told us that he was considering marrying you. After So Young, I was really worried about him", said Yunho's mother trying to disperse the awkwardness that had descended on them.

"I am sorry but I am little lost on who So Young is", said Changmin genuinely confused.

"You mean, you don't know", she asked. Changmin could see her disapproval in her face.

"So Young used to be Yunho's fiance. They broke it off, a year ago. They had made several public appearances so I assumed you would have known", she explained. Maybe that was the girl he had seen in the picture when he had woken up in Yunho's guest bedroom.

"I don't really know a lot about Yunho from the time before he met me", Changmin said frankly.

"I guess you don't take that into account when you are making a decision about you life-partner", remarked Yunho's mother. Changmin could sense the sarcasm in it. He had definitely lost all the points now.

"Past is in the past", Changmin replied with conviction.

"I guess it is", said Yunho's mother looking a bit distant.

 

* * *

 

  
This party was never-ending. Changmin was already so tired, he just wanted to go home. He turned in the direction of a table and noticed that Eunchae had somehow managed to climb on it. She was getting ready to take a leap into the ground. Changmin wasted no time in snatching her and putting her gently on the ground. Suddenly, Eunchae started crying. Changmin was out of wits but when Eunchae shook her arm he realized that he had accidentally scratched her.

Fuck, he was stupid to have grown his nails at all! Changmin panicked he didn't know how to deal with it. He gently blew on her arm but she wouldn't stop. Suddenly, Ara came up to them and lifted Eunchae and started soothing her with soft pat and some gibberish baby-talk. She probably was a baby whisperer because Eunchae stopped crying in a short time.

Eunchae's dad came in and took Eunchae from Ara. He looked a bit apologetic.

He turned to Changmin and said, "It's close to her bed time. So, she probably got cranky"

"Oh no, she was doing well. Think she got scratched a bit", Ara interjected before Changmin could say something. Changmin called her a snitch in his head.

"I apologize. I was just trying to save her from falling off the table", Changmin explained apologetically.

"No need to apologize", Eunchae's father said kindly and took his leave.

Changmin noticed Yunho looking at him with some pity. He looked away from him and saw Yunho's mother looking at him with a judgmental expression. On the other hand, he saw Siwon smirking into his drink.

Changmin felt so uncomfortable. He had to get out of there.

"Excuse me", he said to particularly no one and made his way to the balcony to get some fresh air.

He started to regret his decision to come here. He had lain awake all of last night, debating on the pros and cons of attending the party. Finally, he had decided to go just out of respect for Yunho. He couldn't just not show up and humiliate Yunho in front of his family. The man deserved that much consideration and respect after all the respect he had shown to Changmin and his wishes. Still, he couldn't squash the little hope that he had that maybe everything would work out. But that wasn't to be. Changmin was pretty sure that Yunho's mother wasn't happy and then worst of it was Ara just being there to provide the contrast and show how unworthy Changmin was.

Changmin scoffed at himself. What was the point of giving himself some hope when he was destined to end up someone like Siwon. Changmin cringed hard when he remebered his conversation with the Alpha. Changmin had ignored him when they were in college, it was easy to do that because they belonged to different majors and years. But now he seemed to have zeroed in his focus on him. Changmin didn't even want to think what he meant when he said he could 'handle' Changmin.

Changmin could hear footsteps coming closer. Some people probably had the same idea as him.

"I wanted to apologize", Changmin froze when he heard Yunho's voice.

"I had no idea that people were taking the dating rumors seriously. I didn't until my mother told me that neighbors were asking about that. You and your family must have affected by it, too. I have talked to Heechul hyung about it, we are going to have the magazines apologize for spreading lies"

Changmin did believe Yunho when he had told him that he wasn't dating Ara. But, it was still nice to get a confirmation.

"Does it matter", he heard Ara reply in a soft voice.

"Of course it does", he heard Yunho reply fervently.

"Oppa, I am the one who asked my manager confirm the rumor"

Changmin eyes widened as he heard Ara's confession.

"I don't understand", Yunho sounded lost.

"Oppa, you are just something else"

Well, she was right about that.

"You are so kind and caring. But you never came on to me unlike every guy who has ever tried to be friends with me. You make me feel so comfortable and respected. Oppa, I know I will never come across anyone who can even hold a candle to you"

Shit, this lady was actually in love with Yunho!

"I might have been born a royal but you are the one who made me feel like a princess. What so wrong, if I wanted to be selfish for once in my life ? I know you are looking to marry then why not choose me ? Because, I feel like I could really fall for you"

Too late, Changmin thought. Ara sounded like she had fallen too hard for Yunho.

Changmin waited with baited breath for Yunho's answer and it came

"Ara, you are too kind. You deserve all the happiness in this world but..."

"Don't", Ara seemed to cut him off.

"Please give some thought to it before you tell me your decision. It took a lot of courage to put myself out there. So, please think it over carefully", Ara's voice was shaking now. For a while, Changmin heard nothing.

Changmin curiously peered through the slight opening in the curtain that Ara was hugging Yunho. Changmin felt his heart sink. It was for his hopes of escaping Siwon's clutches being crushed and absolutely not for the fact that Yunho would be marrying someone else.

He turned away from the curtains to gather himself. Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming closer. It couldn't be.

"Changmin-ah", he heard Yunho's unmistakable voice.

Changmin turned to face a surprised Yunho.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was here before you guys came in. And then I didn't want to interrupt so I stayed here"

Yunho opened his mouth to say something but Changmin beat him to it.

"I should be going. It's getting late"

"I will walk you to your car", offered Yunho

"No", said Changmin but it seemed to have come out harsher that he had intended it to be. Yunho seemed a little taken aback by that as well.

Changmin quickly launched into an explanation, "I mean, you don't have to. You are still the host of the party, everyone would be looking for you"

Yunho didn't say anything in protest but he came with him. Changmin bade his goodbyes to Yunho's family. He figured it would be the last time he would ever see them. Yunho quietly walked him to his car. Changmin usually appreciated the silence but he for once wished that Yunho would say something, anything.

Changmin got into his car and Yunho turned out to walk back. Changmin decided something and came out of his car.

"Yunho-ssi", he called out. Yunho turned around, surprised.

Changmin walked up to the Alpha and said, "I am not one to throw words around carelessly"

"You are a good person. I don't know what made you look for an arranged marriage but not everyone is lucky enough to find happiness. So, if you have a sliver of a chance you should really go for it", said Changmin solemnly.

"What are you saying", exclaimed Yunho not quiet believing what he was hearing.

"Marquess Yunho sounds better than Duke Yunho", said Changmin before we walked away from Yunho. Yunho stood there stunned in the parking lot until Changmin drove away.

 

* * *

 

  
Yunho's family had gathered for a dinner. He saw this as a perfect opportunity to get everyone's thoughts on Changmin. He was pretty sure everyone approved of him so they wouldn't mind him raising the question on the dinner table.

"So ? What did you think of Changmin", Yunho asked with a smile

"He is very pretty", Jihye was the first to answer with a smile.

"Absolutely beautiful", exclaimed his grandmother.

"Pwetty", said Eunchae to no one in particular.

Yunho looked at his mother who had a small frown on her face. This was quite unexpected.

"You are not serious about marrying him, are you", she asked.

"I am", replied Yunho seriously.

"You could do much better", said Yunho's mother before she reached out to scoop some rice out for herself.

"Huh sure. He's the Duke's son, better than him would be a Prince", his grandmother added sarcastically.

"You know I wasn't talking about his stature. For someone who wants to marry Yunho, he seems awfully disinterested in knowing anything about him", shot back Yunho's mother trying to control her anger.

"What do you mean", asked Yunho shocked by the unexpected turn of events.

"He didn't know about So Young", replied his mother with an accusatory glance.

"That's because I have never talked to him about any my past relationships", defended Yunho. That seemed to set his mother off.

"You kids baffle me, how are you ok with marrying each other when you haven't even talked about your past", she went off.

"In our time, arranged marriage meant just seeing each others pictures and then meeting each other directly on the wedding day", his grandmother jumped in the discussion.

"More than that, when I told him about So Young, he didn't even seem interested. All I sensed from him was apathy", added his mother with some disapproval.

"Maybe he just has a poker face", defended his grandmother. Yunho thought, what had he unleashed in here!

"Also we all heard what people were saying about him", threw in his mother for a good measure.

"He is a royal, of course people say all kinds of things about him", his grandmother argued.

"Ara is a royal and a famous one at that, I didn't hear anyone say anything about her", his mother shot back.

"Why bring her into this? Yunho asked about Changmin", retorted his grandmother.

"Because, I believe Ara is more suitable for Yunho", stated Yunho's mother. Yunho was completely taken aback.

"Please, I mean it in the sweetest way but she is so bland in front of our Yunho. Did you not see Changmin and Yunho together ? I swear together they looked like Gods walking the earth", went off his grandmother.

"Face isn't everything, a person's character is important", retorted his mother.

"How can you determine a person's character when you have only met him, just the one time? Why don't you trust your son's judgement for once", argued his grandmother raising her voice.  
Eunchae looked so confused by what was going on.

"Could we not do this, now? This doesn't seem like a dinner appropriate conversation", finally Yunho's grandfather interfered. His grandmother and mother went silent and glared at their food instead.

"More rice", Jihye asked Yunho when the silence stretched too long.

 

* * *

 

  
Yunho found her mother sitting alone near the window reading a book, upside down.

"Omma", he said to get his mother's attention. She looked at Yunho and closed her book.

"Here to talk about Changmin, I suppose", she said, her voice laced with disappointment. Yunho sighed and sat down beside her

"So, you don't like him", asked Yunho.

"I don't have anything against the boy. But when I see Ara, it doesn't make sense why you are choosing to be with Changmin and not her", replied his mother.

"Ara", asked Yunho surprised.

"C'mon Yunho, even a blind person can tell how much she cares about you. She is a young celebrity, surely she has better things to do than attend your grandparent's anniversary and spend all of her time talking about you with your family. She even took care of Eunchae", she argued fervently.

Yunho sighed again and said, "Ara is a nice person"

"Don't be daft Yunho, that girl loves you", stated his mother.

"So, the problem with Changmin is that he doesn't love me", asked Yunho, confused.

"That's not even the problem. He is just too uncaring and uninterested in you. He didn't care to dance with you unless you asked him to. He didn't engage in any conversation with us unless we took the initiative. The whole party, not even once did he look for you", said his mother.

Changmin was shy and introverted. There is no way that he would initiate a conversation he didn't know that well. Changmin might have some classiest tendency but he had treated his family with utmost respect so that definitely wasn't the problem. But how could he convince his mother without sounding like an angsty teenager and pulling a 'you don't know him like I do'.

"Why do you even want to marry someone like that, I don't understand. Yes, he is beautiful but I know that you are not vain", continued his mother.

Yunho opened his mouth to say something but his mother cut him off

"Ok, just tell me the truth. We did see him in the morning at your place. I know he spent the night with you"

"I don't...", asked Yunho unsure.

His mother rolled her eyes at him and asked, "Is he pregnant"

"What! No. There's nothing like that between us", Yunho was quick to defend.

"Then there is no reason why you are so stuck on him", said his mother.

"Changmin might be introverted and could come across as apathetic but he has a good heart. And I think we can respect each other to work well as husbands", reasoned Yunho.

His mother looked disappointed in him.

"You talk about marriage like its one of your business deals. Just respecting each other is not enough. Don't you need care, attention or at least some feelings", she retorted sounding angry.

"Didn't seem to work out well, last time", Yunho couldn't help but say that

"You and So Young breaking up doesn't take away from the fact that you were happy when you in that relationship. Maybe Changmin can give you a solid marriage but I don't think he can give you happiness", argued his mother

_if you have a sliver of a chance you should really go for it_

First Changmin and now his mother, he was so tired of people deciding what his happiness was for him.

"I have seen you happy so I won't settle for anything else. If that makes me the bad person here then that's what I will be", said his mother with an air of finality before she got up and walked off from the room.

 

* * *

 

  
"So, you are telling me that your family didn't approve of Changmin like Changmin had expected", said Heechul, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well, I hadn't expected that", replied Yunho solemnly.

"That's because you are naive. Like how you assumed Ara wasn't the one who confirmed the rumors about you two", said Heechul slapping Yunho's arm.

''Maybe there's something wrong with me", contemplated Yunho stretching out on Heechul's expensive leather couch.

"Yeah, you are too nice to people in a world where most people are trash", remarked Heechul before pouring himself a drink.

Yunho noticed a magazine on Heechul's end table. It said something about Yunho's party.

''What's this", he asked as he curiously picked the paper up.

"Just, you know, casual reading", Heechul answered with a shrug.

There were pictures of him and Ara. God, those were making him depressed. He noticed a picture of Siwon and Changmin. They seemed to be engaged in a conversation. There was small heading which read:

'Have we found our next royal lovebirds'

Yunho gripped the paper tightly. He started feeling an irrational anger.

"Changmin and Siwon, that's an odd pairing. Might be good for him, though. Siwon is rich", remarked Heechul taking a peek at what Yunho was looking at. Yunho glared at him in response.

"What ? Am I not allowed to speculate now that your marriage with him is off", Heechul defended. Yunho tossed the paper onto the floor and sat up on the couch.

"Mom wants me to marry Ara because she has feelings for me. But that's the exact opposite of what I want my marriage to be", Yunho said agitated.

"So, wait. You don't want any feelings involved from either side", asked Heechul.

''Yes. No feelings, no expectations, no hurt", said Yunho thoughtfully.

Heechul scoffed, "That's dumb, you know. How can someone like you not fall for someone you are going to spend the rest of your life with"

"Believe me, I won't fall for Changmin", shot back Yunho with conviction.

"Sure. But after marriage he is not just gonna be Changmin to you, he's going to become your husband. You think you won't develop affections for your husband ? You are a werewolf not a cyborg", argued Heechul.

Yunho got up from the couch and started pacing around. Heechul expected some shit was gonna go down. Yunho came to a halt and said,

"The first time I fell in love, I had fallen deep even before I realized. The second time happened because I desperately wanted to fall in love once again. I have made up my mind, there won't be a third time"

Heechul sighed and shook his head. When Yunho got stuck in a tangent it was hard for him to see anything else.

"For the record, I think that's a bad idea. When you fall in love with Changmin and lose your marbles just remember that you can come here and drown your sorrows", said Heechul before he proceeded to drown his drink.

This second hand drama was getting to him. He needed to find new friends with much less drama in their lives.

 

* * *

 

  
Yunho was visiting Jihye's place to spend some time with Eunchae.

"Oppa, do you want to see the pictures I took from the party", Jihye asked with her DSLR in her hand.

"Yeah, sure", said Yunho. Jihye had always had a passion of photography. Most of the pictures back at his house, on the wall were all Jihye's work.

Jihye handed him the camera and went to fetch something from another room. Eunchae came and sat on his lap to look at the pictures along with him. He flipped through the pictures of his grandparents and parents. He came to a stop at the one with him and Changmin. It seems to have been taken when they had entered the room, with their arms tangled together.

"Cha-mi", Eunchae's voice broke off Yunho's train of thought.

"Yes, that's Chami samcheon", said Yunho with a smile.

"Pwetty", said Eunchae pointing at Changmin.

"Yes, that too" Yunho agreed with a fond smile.

"You both do look great together", Jihye had rejoined them.

"How are you not Team Ara", asked Yunho with a rueful chuckle.

"You know I have always been Team Oppa", said Jihye with a smile.

"Your Oppa doesn't know what do to", replied Yunho with a deep sigh.

"You like him don't you", asked Jihye seriously.

Yunho looked at the picture and replied, "I don't know"

Jihye sighed and sat down beside Yunho.

"I would tell you to flip a coin but there wouldn't be much of a point to it when you are already rooting for one side", she said meeting Yunho's eyes.

Yunho let out a bitter laugh and said, "Waaah, that's too deep"

"I have read so many books on parenting. I can literally start a counseling center", replied Jihye with a chuckle.

 

* * *

 

  
Yunho found himself near the steps of Han River. He had been coming here since he was in college to take some time reflect on his life. He somehow found the place soothing, even though it was overcrowded. There was just something about this place or maybe just the nostalgia.

Yunho noticed someone sitting wearing a pink hoodie similar to the one he had owned since college. The one which sadly met with its demise in the hands of Changmin's washing machine. God, now even a hoodie was reminding him of Changmin. The person in the pink hoodie rose from the steps and turned out. Wait, that was Changmin.

Yunho's mood suddenly went up. He caught up with Changmin while the Omega was disposing the skewers.

"Is that my hoodie", he asked in lieu of a greeting. Changmin jumped in surprise and then glared at him.

"Of course, not. What are you implying", he said crossing his arms in defense.

"I am not implying anything. You straight up stole my hoodie and told me that it was damaged", accused Yunho grinning like a mad man.

"You are so full of yourself", retorted Changmin.

"Really ? I have had that hoodie since college. Pretty sure if you roll up your sleeves, you would see my initials on it with a permanent marker", insisted Yunho.

"What? You used to do that", said Changmin scrunching his nose. God, Yunho has missed him!

"Hey, people used to steal from the laundry room. It was a necessity back then", defended Yunho. Changmin looked skeptic about it.

"Roll up your sleeves", Yunho insisted.

"Shut up and stop bothering me", Changmin scolded and started walking away. Yunho chuckled and fell into step with him.

"It looks better on you anyway", Yunho said.

Changmin looked at Yunho and then said, "Yellow looks good on you, too"

Yunho smirked and asked, "Since you are the one who got this for me. Aren't you kind of praising yourself too"

"What's wrong with that", Changmin replied with a shrug.

"Nothing. Of course Changmin's choice is as pretty as him", remarked Yunho.

"Why are you following me", asked Changmin, a little pissed off.

"I am not, I just happen to be heading in the same direction", lied Yunho.

"Well, I am heading to the nearest bar to drink my weight in soju so if that's what you are doing too then good luck", said Changmin, That immediately got Yunho worried.

"You are drinking alone", he asked.

"Why are you asking me so many questions? It's not like you are my husband or anything", spat out Changmin unkindly.

"So what? Am I not allowed to care about you", shot back Yunho ferevently.

"Do whatever you want", Changmin said and ignored Yunho rest of the way.

 

* * *

 

  
"Looks like you have made up your mind to babysit me", Changmin remarked when Yunho dropped next to Changmin's chair.

"Changmin-ah", said Yunho in a serious tone to get Changmin's attention. Changmin looked at him with his big, sad eyes.

"What's wrong", he asked Changmin, worried.

"Nothing's wrong. I am drinking to celebrate", said Changmin pouring drinks into his glass.

Yunho looked at him skeptically.

"My father is going to accept a proposal on my behalf in a couple days", said Changmin before he took a sip. Yunho felt his heart sinking right at that moment. He went speechless.

"I am getting married. You want to join in the celebration", asked Changmin somewhat tilted.

"Changmin-ah", Yunho said firmly.

"Wait, let me get you a glass", said Changmin calling over someone to get them an extra glass.

"Changdol", Yunho said suddenly grabbing Changmin's hands.

"What", asked Changmin surprised.

"Marry me", said Yunho looking straight into his eyes. Changmin snatched his hands back.

"The drink's getting to my head, I am hearing things", said Changmin meekly.

"You haven't even started drinking", countered Yunho.

"Why on earth do you still want to marry me", snapped Changmin at Yunho.

"Because you are you. We have clear expectations of each other from a marriage. I don't think there is anyone else more suitable", said Yunho looking directly into Changmin's eyes.

"Not even Ara", asked Changmin.

Yunho sighed and said,"She has feelings for me. The last thing I want for her is to expect love from me when I have none left to give. I don't want to drag her through that disappointment"

"Can't imagine that your family would approve of our marriage", remarked Changmin.

Yunho gathered himself, he had given this a lot of thought over the past few days. He always knew the answer deep down but all he needed was the push to take the leap.

"They have their reasons and I respect that. But ultimately I believe they will come around. And honestly, how much can someone know about someone with just one meeting"

Changmin took some time to process all of it and finally replied with a "Huh"

"What", asked Yunho somewhat disappointed by the lack of reaction.

"That was kind of anti-climatic. Every thing was contingent on your family's approval and now it looks like it was much ado about nothing", said Changmin reflectively.

"Fine. Let's do this right, then", Yunho said folding his sleeves.

"What are you doing", asked Changmin slightly worried by Yunho's enthusiasm.

One of the staff returned with a tall glass. Yunho filled it up with soju.

"If I drink this all, will you be my husband", Yunho asked in his satoori accent.

"Are you fulfilling your movie fantasies here", Changmin kicked Yunho under the table.

Yunho smirked and fucking did it. Changmin watched in absolute horror as he emptied the whole glass in one go.

"Are you fucking crazy, Jung Yunho", exclaimed Changmin.

Yunho burped loudly and then shook his head.

"So", he asked expectantly.

"Yes I will marry you, you mad man", exclaimed Changmin and the proceeded to order some food so his soon-to-be-husband wouldn't die.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am losing my mind. I dunno how these chapters are getting so long but here it is enjoy! Thank you for everyone who left lovely comments and also kept pushing that Kudos button. Yall make me happy!

 

“You aren't ready? You have a doctor’s appointment, today. I put an alarm and everything”, Changmin asked surprised that his mother was resting on the bed in her night gown.

 

“I have decided not to go”, she replied turning away from Changmin.

 

Changmin was baffled and her childishness, “Well, you need to! Go get ready”

 

“I am not continuing the treatment”,she said firmly.

 

“What”, asked Changmin, he wasn’t quite sure what he had heard.

 

“No more appointments”, she pressed on.

 

Numerous thoughts ran through Changmin’s head at once. Was the treatment making his mother too sick ? Was it so painful that she was choosing not to continue ? What could have happened between the last appointment and today that he could have missed ?

 

Changmin fired off all those questions, “Why ? You were doing so well. If it's too painful, we can talk to the doctor, you can't just ...”

 

“I CAN ‘just decide’. Like you’ve decided to sacrifice yourself”, his mother cut him off sharply.

 

“Is this about the marriage”, asked Changmin incredulously, sure that couldn’t be the reason!

 

“I am not just going to sit here and watch you be pressured into something you don't want”, shot back his mother.

 

“How is stopping the treatment going to help with that”, asked Changmin bewildered.

 

“I am taking away the leverage”, she replied firmly.

 

“You have got it all wrong”, said Changmin shaking his head in frustration

 

“Oh ? So, you are not marrying some random rich guy that your father picked out”, she asked sarcastically.

 

“No”, replied Changmin flummoxed.

 

“No”, asked his mother surprised.

 

“Dad had nothing to do with it. I chose Yunho”, explained Changmin fervently.

 

“You are telling me that YOU found a guy likable enough to marry”, stated his mother skeptically.

 

“Yes”, said Changmin with conviction.

 

His mother narrowed her eyes and said, “You are not fooling me”

 

“Mom, it's not like I changed my stance on marriage, overnight! Had things been different, I would have never married anyone, ever”, said Changmin desperate to set things right.

 

His mother argued, “But you were with Kyu...”

 

“Kyu is marrying someone else. He broke up with me even before I found out about you”, said Changmin negating his mother’s argument.

 

His mother seemed deflated by that piece of information.

 

“Min-ah”, she said in her consoling voice.

 

“Besides, I wasn't sure if I did want that relationship to turn into marriage at some point”, added Changmin nonchalantly. His mother didn’t seem to have any comebacks, she seemed withdrawn. Changmin sighed and went to sit beside her.

 

“You did want to see me getting married at some point, right”, he asked hoping it didn’t come out in patronizing tone.

 

“Not like this”, his mother said shaking her head in disappointment.

 

Changmin sighed and put forth his argument,

 

“In a perfect world, everyone would get what they want. All things considered, Yunho is a genuinely nice person. Had I been open to the idea of marriage in general, I would have no qualms in marrying him”

 

“So, you like him”, asked his mother doubtfully.

 

“I don't think there's anyone in this world who can hate him. He is like those perfect people from Hallmark movies”, Changmin replied with some sass.

 

“You like him”, stated his mother as if she had hit a realization. Changmin felt a little uncomfortable by her judgement so he changed the topic.

 

“If I set up a dinner with him, would you stop being difficult and get ready”, he asked.

 

“Listens to you, does he? Will he come running to greet his in-laws if you asked him to”, asked his mother mother with amusement.

 

Changmin tried not to roll his eyes and replied, “He will, not because he listens to me or anything. He's just like that”

 

“Perfect”, asked his mother now with a small smile adorning her face. Changmin wished it always stayed there.

 

“We are getting late”, he said before he got up and walked out of her room to gather her reports.

 

* * *

 

 

_To Pabo: Are you free sometime this week? Mom wants to meet you._

 

Changmin always felt that it was a safer bet to send a text because Yunho was a busy man and it was most likely that he would never catch him on phone. Usually, if Yunho was free right then, he would immediately call him. Yunho had admitted to him that he hated texting. Well, another thing about the man that Changmin would never understand.

 

His phone went off, as expected it was Yunho.

“Changdol”, he heard Yunho’s unmistakably bright voice.

 

“Ye, seonsaengnim”, replied Changmin cheekily.

 

“So, you talked to your Mom about me”, Yunho sounded too smug.

 

“Yes, hard for her to not get curious about her only son-in-law”, replied Changmin sassily.

 

“Hope you mentioned only good things”, asked Yunho.

 

“Are there any good things”, teased Changmin.

 

“I am a catch, I will have you known”, replied Yunho with a mock huff.

 

“Such humility”, shot back Changmin sarcastically.

 

“Ahhh, Changdol-ah! How I have missed your sweet nothings”, Yunho said way too tickled. Changmin could feel his ears burning.

 

“Please refrain from using any of those ridiculous nicknames in front of my parents”, he said choosing not to comment on Yunho’s previous message.

 

“Yah, that’s hard! I don’t even realize it when they slip out of my mouth. Besides, you like it”, argued Yunho quite passionately.

 

“No, I don’t”, shot back Changmin firmly.

 

“Not even a little bit”, asked Yunho coquettishly. That was too much of a loaded question to answer so Changmin changed the thread of conversation once again.

 

“So, when will you have time to visit my parents”, asked Changmin lying down on his bed

 

“Hmmm.... I will be back from Japan, tomorrow. So, would tomorrow evening work for you”, replied Yunho thoughtfully.

 

“Back from Japan.... You are in Japan now”, asked Changmin bewildered.

 

“Yeah”, replied Yunho nonchalantly.

 

“Then, why did you call? You are wasting ISD calls on stupid stuff, hang up”, said Changmin and immediately hung up on him.

 

“Min-ah”, said Yunho into the phone but the call had already been disconnected. Just when he thought he knew everything about Changmin, he just stumbled across a new facet of him. Shim Changmin actually had a frugal side to him. Yunho unwittingly smiled as he typed a text that was bound to set off Changmin.

 

_From Pabo: Talking to my fiance doesn’t qualify as stupid stuff_

 

_To Pabo: It does for me_

 

He received a gif of Ryan crying in a corner response.

_To Pabo: Would you stop being overly-dramatic ? Also, are you sure you want to come over tomorrow evening ? You would have just returned, wouldn’t it be a bit hectic for you?_

 

Yunho was confused if he read the text, right. He re-read it and them dialed Changmin’s number once again. Changmin picked up the phone despite having hung up on him few minutes ago.

 

“You like wasting money or something”, said Changmin in lieu of a greeting.

 

“Could you repeat what you texted me just now”, Yunho asked trying not to sound smug.

 

“Can you not read”, shot back Changmin. As expected, nobody would ever be spared from his sharp tongue.

 

“I can but I wanted to hear you say it”, said Yunho coquettishly.

 

“What ? To stop being overly-dramatic”, asked Changmin confused.

 

“The one after that”, prompted Yunho.

 

“Would tomorrow not be hectic for you”, repeated Changmin confused.

 

“Ahhh.... is that concern I hear”, teased Yunho with a smirk.

 

“It’s a logical question”, defended Changmin.

 

“You don’t have to explain, I got it”, said Yunho patronizingly.

 

“Got what”, asked Changmin sounding a little pissed off.

 

“You care about me”, teased Yunho. As expected, the line went dead. Well, it was fun while it lasted.

 

_From Pabo: Don’t worry about me. I will still come over. Meeting you and your family will recharge me_

 

_To Pabo: I will let Mom know_

 

_From Pabo: Will you cook for me_

 

_To Pabo: No, we do have a cook_

 

_From Pabo: That’s not romantic, at all_

 

_To Pabo: You are meeting my parents not celebrating Valentine’s day with me_

 

_From  Pabo: So what I am getting is that you would cook for me on Valentine’s day_

 

_To Pabo: Good night_

 

_From Pabo: Sleep tight, Changdollie_

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Flowers ? Really ? I thought you knew better”, remarked Changmin a bit disappointed when Yunho showed up at his parent’s house with a huge bouquet.

 

“These are not for you”, retorted Yunho as he promptly walked past Changmin. Changmin tried not to feel offended. Nobody wanted his stupid flowers, anyway!

 

Changmin eyes followed Yunho as he greeted Changmin’s parents. He handed over the bouquet to his mother.

 

“Ahh... these are so pretty”, she exclaimed.

 

“Min-ah”, she called out to Changmin. Changmin walked up to join them.

 

“Could you put these in the vase”, his mother asked handing over the flowers to him. He smiled at her and went to fetch a vase. When he returned he caught the last dredges of conversation between his mother and Yunho.

 

“Min-ah loves Carnations. He always has them back at his place”, she said.

 

“You can take them back to your place”, she said turning to Changmin. Yunho was trying to hide his smile. Changmin almost winced at that. Thankfully Mangdoongie entered the room and took the attention away from him.

 

“Who is this pretty lady”, Yunho asked his face completely lighting up at seeing Mangdoongie.

 

“Mandoongie. She is shy”, Changmin’s mother replied. Yunho kneeled and bent forward to interact with Mangdoongie.

 

“Hello”, he said with a sweet smile.

 

“I am Yunho”, he said putting his hand forward. Changmin almost felt bad for the man. Mandoongie was probably the most shy and scaredy dog ever! She was just gonna run away and leave the big Alpha hanging. She seemed to take two steps backward but she stayed there and didn’t run away. Yunho stayed put as well. Mangdoongie then slowly inched forward and sniffed Yunho’s palm. Everyone looked at them surprised when Mangdoongie finally responded by putting her paw on Yunho’s palm.

 

Was Yunho a dog-whisperer or something? Changmin wouldn’t put it past him.

 

* * *

 

“Everything is so good! I apologize if I overeat. This Dak Galbi is the best I have ever had”, said Yunho as he led the conversation at the dinner table.

 

Changmin reached out and scooped out some more of the Dak Galbi on Yunho’s plate.

 

“Thank you”, he said with a smile. Had Changmin been less awkward, he would have replied with a smile of his own.

 

Instead, he held up the rice bowl and asked him, “More rice”, which Yunho gleefully accepted.

 

“Min-ah made Dak Galbi”, his mother chimed in, making Changmin’s ears go red at once.

 

“Changmin-ah, this is so good”, Yunho exclaimed, forgetting himself and slipping in a nickname for Changmin. Changmin knew that his parents were looking at them surprised.

 

“It’s like the easiest thing to make”, Changmin replied coolly, trying to cover up his embarrassment. Mandoongie walked up happily towards Yunho. Yunho got excited when he noticed her.

 

“Ah... Mandoongie, here. Look, what your dad made”, said Yunho feeding her some of his food under the table. Changmin’s father looked seriously appalled at Yunho’s table manners whereas Changmin’s mother looked amused.

 

“Stop feeding her scraps from the table, you will spoil her”, nagged Changmin. Changmin’s parents went still at Changmin’s tone.

 

“But isn’t it too sad that she isn’t eating when we are eating”, retorted Yunho, petting Mangdoongie as she rubbed her nose against Yunho’s pant-legs. The traitor!

 

“She already ate. Don’t spoil her appetite”, scolded Changmin.

 

“Min-ah”, Changmin’s father scolded. Changmin realized where he was and shut his mouth.

 

“No, I apologize. I have never had a pet of my own so I get too excited”, said Yunho surprising Changmin.

 

* * *

 

 

“It’s nice outside now that it has finally stopped raining”, said Yunho as he seated himself in a bench in the garden. He and Changmin’s mother had moved to a garden. Yunho was pretty sure, this was where the interrogation part of the evening would start.

 

“It was nice of you to defend Min-ah, back there”, Changmin’s mother said.

 

“Ahh... it was my fault anyway”, waved off Yunho flustered. He honestly had not liked the tone Changmin’s father had used on Changmin. But it was Changmin’s family and he knew better than to interfere.

 

“You don’t seem to mind his nagging, either. I have always asked him to dial it down a bit ‘coz it always ends up sounding rude”, said Changmin’s mother conversationally.

 

“At first, because I didn’t know any better, I kind of let it get to me”, replied Yunho honestly.

 

“And now”, prompted Changmin’s mother.

 

“I have spent enough time around him to recognize it for what it is. It’s how he shows concern and covers up any embarrassment. It’s just him”, Yunho explained earnestly.

 

An unbidden smile appeared on Changmin’s mother’s face as she heard Yunho’s answer.

 

“Min-ah will get angry if he finds out that I told you anything but he said a lot of nice things about you”, she said quite amused. Yunho was quite surprised to learn that.

 

“And I know him, he uses his praises sparingly. So, they tend to carry a lot of weight for me”, she added gravely. Yunho sensed that she was building up to say something really emotional.

 

“I...”, she paused to gather herself. Yunho patiently waited. Changmin was a lot like his mother when he talked about something emotional.

 

“He is very precious to me. It breaks my heart to see him get into a marriage that’s more of an business arrangement. All because of me”, she continued her face twisting, trying to not cry.

 

“I care a lot about my child. So, please forgive me if I ask you anything that might seem too obtrusive”, she said gathering herself.

 

“You don’t have to apologize at all! You can ask me anything, really”, Yunho egged her on trying to make her feel comfortable.

 

“I read that you had a fiance before Changmin”, she asked.

 

“Yes, we broke up about a year ago”, answered Yunho promptly. He had more or less expected this question.

 

“May I ask why”, she asked politely.

 

“Of course”, Yunho said before he launched into the answer.

 

“Her name was So Young. We dated for a year before we decided to get married. My workload was the usual but I guess while we were dating I didn’t seem to be that busy. Later, when we started living together after engagement, it suddenly hit her that I was spending most of my time working”, he paused to take a deep breath. It was never easy for him to admit his failures.

 

“We tried to make it work but there were missed anniversaries, dinners, family gatherings. Honestly, since I built the company from the ground up, I feel responsible for everyone’s livelihood who works under me. I always want to keep working and keep pushing the company forward because if I make a mistake it would affect a lot of people”, explained Yunho.

 

“I understand”, chimed in Changmin’s mother.

 

“I won’t shy away from saying that I prioritize my work over anything else. I know that it might not be a healthy way of thinking or living but I have responsibilities that cannot turn my back on. It’s just not in me”, Yunho reiterated.

 

Changmin’s mother’s huffed a bit and said,

 

“You are so different that all of the socialites that I have met in my lifetime. I couldn’t figure out that why a guy like you would ever think of looking for an arrangement like this”

 

“Like, in a good way”, asked Yunho feeling a bit unsure.

 

She smiled kindly and replied, “Let’s put it this way. Everyone else is so focused on their achievements, their own profit, their own status, ego. Even Min-ah’s father”

 

Yunho was surprised that she didn’t shy away from acknowledging her own husband’s faults.

 

“You, even when you are talking about business you are putting people before yourself. You talk about your employees not your company. Honestly, it’s quite refreshing. Even the way you talk about Min-ah is so different than anyone else”, she continued.

 

“Not many care to see beyond his prickly exterior or the pretty face. I am starting to understand why Min-ah likes you”, she concluded with a smile.

 

“He does”, asked Yunho quite taken aback.

 

“He is marrying you isn’t he”, replied Changmin’s mother with a smirk. Yunho could do nothing but shrug at that.

 

“Yunho”, she called out to get Yunho’s attention again. Yunho turned her full attention on her.

 

“As far as I understand, you are far too busy to get into a traditional marriage so you have decided to get into this arrangement”, she looked towards Yunho for some kind of confirmation.

 

“Yes”, Yunho said affirmatively.

 

“However, I hope you could keep your mind open”, she said. It was too cryptic for Yunho to understand.

 

She definitely caught on to his confusion and went on to expand on it further,

 

“I think you and Min-ah could be really good for each other. Sometimes love finds you even if you aren’t looking for it. I hope I live long enough to see it happen”

 

Yunho held her hands and told her earnestly,

“I know your son. And, if he’s anything like you, I know you are going to scare this illness away. You are going to win”

 

He shook her hands reassuringly and she responded with a soft smile.

 

* * *

 

 

“Wahh... weren’t you too handsome for a 15 year old”, exclaimed Yunho holding one of Changmin’s pictures.

 

Changmin’s mother had asked Changmin to give Yunho a tour of his room. Changmin had only lived there until he was 17 so it was just filled with his high school and middle school pictures. Yunho looked far too gleeful to get so much dirt on him.

 

“I looked like any normal 15 year old”, said Changmin snatching the picture away from Yunho’s hands.

 

“What kind of teenager has no zits”, countered Yunho.

 

“My skin has always been good. It’s genetic. I got it from my mother”, replied Changmin like clockwork. He had been asked this question far too many times in high school.

 

“I bet the whole school was after you”, teased Yunho.

 

“Like the same thing didn’t happen to you”, shot back Changmin. He turned to see that Yunho had stretched himself out on Changmin’s bed. The audacity!

 

“Me”, Yunho asked absently, settling himself comfortably.

 

“Please! Did you forget the last time in Tokyo? It’s like people are attracted to you like bees to nectar”, retorted Changmin. Like he was gonna forget that anytime soon!

 

“Still jealous about that, huh”, remarked Yunho. Suddenly, a pillow hit his face, hard.

 

“Ahh...”, Yunho whined. Changmin was one harsh man!

 

“I don’t know how you managed to win over my mom”, said Changmin sitting on the bed.

 

“I am charming”, replied Yunho, smug.

 

“Yeah, you know how to sweet talk”, said Changmin using his fingers to gesticulate the ‘talking’. Yunho found it extremely endearing.

 

“Thank you”, suddenly Changmin said pointedly looking away from him.

 

“What for”, asked Yunho somewhat lost.

 

“Meeting Mom on short notice. I know it wasn’t one of the clauses we agreed on”, he added still looking away.

 

“Hey, gotta make nice with my mother-in-law”, said Yunho trying get the mood lighter.

 

“Too bad, I couldn’t. Even though it was one of the clauses”, Changmin said with a tinge of self-deprecation. Yunho instantly felt guilty.

 

“It was partly my fault. I didn’t tell them the whole truth about us”, defended Yunho.

 

“Even if my family thought of it as a normal marriage proposal, I think they would have still approved of you”, said Changmin somewhat bitterly. Yunho wanted to soothe Changmin. Before, he had no idea how to so he always let that feeling go but things were different now. They were engaged to be married soon.

 

So, he reached out and held Changmin’s hand. As expected, Changmin jumped a bit at the initial touch. But soon, he relaxed against it.

 

“Well, I approve of you”, Yunho said. Changmin was about to roll his eyes at that but Yunho entwined their fingers together and that gave him a tingling sensation, his shoulders went rigid. Yunho’s hands were so warm and large, they almost swallowed his own.

 

“I have got something for you”, Yunho’s voice broke Changmin’s train of thought.

 

“What”, asked Changmin facing Yunho. Yunho dug something out of his pocket and produced it in front of Changmin.

 

“A key to my house. No, our house”, corrected Yunho. Changmin did not expect it at all, he took it from Yunho and pressed it against his palms. Sure they had talked about moving and stuff but this was making everything very real.

 

“We talked briefly about moving your stuff. We hadn’t decided on which room you wanted to turn into your office”, continued Yunho like he hadn’t just casually asked Changmin to move in with him.

 

“Yeah, the guest room or the game room”, Changmin replied.

 

“You can come in any time and check both of them out. In fact, we can start moving in some of your stuff already”, said Yunho sitting up on the bed.

 

Changmin looked at the key once again. Their house.

 

* * *

 

Changmin felt weird using the key to Yunho’s house. Technically, he was supposed to be moving in a couple of weeks but it was still awkward.

As Changmin walked in, he could hear Yunho singing very loudly from his bathroom. Hmm... Changmin would have to talk to him about his volume. Changmin quickly checked out the game room. There was a big TV with speakers, a PS4 and a nintendo switch. Changmin thought it had good space to fit in his legos and also set up his VR gaming. Yeah, this room was gonna stay, he would pick the floral wallpapered guest room. First order of business, change the wallpapers!

 

When he entered the the guest room his eyes automatically fell on the picture he had seen last time. He picked it up and looked at it once more. This definitely had to be So Young. Kind of short, long haired, cute. Pretty opposite of Changmin.

 

“Changdol”

 

Yunho’s voice startled Changmin. He almost dropped the picture.

 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to..”, Changmin murmured feeling embarrassed at being caught with the picture in his hand. Yunho was out from his shower, thankfully he was wearing clothes and not just a flimsy towel. However, his hair still looked wet and Changmin just itched to dry it properly for him.

 

“Didn’t know that I still had this picture”, Yunho said picking up the picture. Shit, Yunho probably thought Changmin was trying to spy or something.

 

“I know mom told you about So Young”, he said turning towards Changmin.

 

“I don’t know a whole lot other than the fact that she was engaged to you and you guys broke up, about a year ago”, Changmin said nonchalantly. He was cool with the whole thing, he didn’t care about Yunho’s ex-fiance. Not much,anyway!

 

“She had moved in with me after we got engaged. After 8 months or so, she broke up with me and moved out”, Yunho said conversationally taking the picture out of the frame.

 

“Later, when I found anything related to us, I kept dumping it in the guest room. Guess, I just never looked back”, Yunho said before he walked with the picture towards his office. Curious, Changmin followed him. He was surprised when he found Yunho stop near a shredder He was gonna shred that picture!

 

“You don’t have to do this. Not on my account”, Changmin immediately said.

 

“It’s something that should have been done much earlier” as Yunho put the picture through the shredder and turned to look at Changmin like it wasn’t a big deal, just some spring cleaning.

 

“You seem a bit surprised”, he noticed Changmin’s bewilderment.

 

“Yeah, it’s just...”, Changmin struggled to voice his question.

 

“Can’t imagine someone dumping you”. he finally said because Yunho was literally any person’s romantic relationship dream.

 

“It happens”, said Yunho with a shrug.

 

“She wanted an adoring husband who had time for her. It’s the bare minimum anyone would want out of a relationship. And yet, I failed”, said Yunho with some gravitas in his voice.

 

Changmin didn’t know what was the appropriate thing to say at that point. What he could deduce was Yunho seemed to be more sad about his failure in maintaining the relationship than about So Young leaving.

 

“Do you think, given another chance you would done things differently”, asked the real question that was nagging him.

 

“No. I realized I wasn’t made for it”, said Yunho with a tinge of bitterness.

 

“Marriage”, asked Changmin.

 

“Love”, replied Yunho looking at Changmin.

 

* * *

 

Changmin had brought some of his books. As he started putting them away, Yunho’s book collection caught his attention. He had all the copies of the ‘Moonchild’ series that he had written. It was a children’s book, it was odd to see Yunho have it.

 

“You seem to have all the books from this author”, asked Changmin showing Yunho one of the books.

 

“Choikang-nim ? He is a favorite of mine. These are some really good books, I would recommend them to everyone”, Yunho replied, his eyes lighting up.

 

“Aren’t these children’s books”, asked Changmin fishing for information.

 

“Yes, but there are so many lessons that everyone can learn. He makes use of these fantastical characters to get the younger readers interested but talks about so many issues that currently reside in our society. Intolerance, Discrimination, Sexism and the taboo around Mental Health issues. In fact, these are lessons I would have wanted my children to learn”, Yunho raved about the book.

 

Changmin could help but smile at it. This was probably the highest praise for any writer, the fact that people consider the book good enough to pass the lessons down to their kids. Then suddenly, it hit Changmin that Yunho would never have kids because he was marrying Changmin. It made him oddly sad, he couldn’t explain it why.

 

“So... I got leftover Dak Galbi with me. Do you want to have some of it”, he asked Yunho, still a bit high on his praise.

 

“Are you offering to share your food with me? For real”, Yunho looked skeptic.

 

“Don’t get used to it. This is the last time”, Changmin said, he had a reputation to maintain. He couldn’t go soft now.

 

As he was passing by, he saw a Bambi plushie. Did Yunho bring this to mock him ? He wouldn’t put it past him.

 

“Is this a joke”, he said waving the doll in front of Yunho.

 

“That’s my daughter, Bambi”, exclaimed Yunho snatching the plushie away from his hands.

 

“I swear, I have had her for years before I met you”, explained Yunho patting the plushie gently.

 

“Then, it’s weird that you stored my name as ‘Bambi’ in your phone”, argued Changmin.

 

“Ahh... I did not think about it”, rued Yunho, his mistake dawning on him.

 

“I will change it to Bambi’s Dad”, Yunho said.

 

“You are her Dad”, Changmin narrowed his eyes at Yunho. Why was he acting so daft ?

 

“Yeah, but you are definitely the other Dad. I mean she looks just like you”, said Yunho with a grin pushing the plushie towards Changmin’s face. Changmin looked at the plushie, it was old, one of its eyes were missing.

 

“Are you actively trying to piss me off”, warned Changmin.

 

“I am stating facts. Same eyes, same nose, same legs”, added Yunho with a grin.

 

“You are not getting any of the food”, said Changmin as walked towards the kitchen.

 

“Yah, Changdol”, Yunho shouted after him.

 

“You can’t forsake your own daughter”, he shouted after Changmin. The Alpha had some of his screws missing. Changmin accidentally collided with the end table and a stack of albums fell. Who the hell would put stack of albums on an end table ?

 

Changmin was about to close the one that had fallen open, face down, when he noticed the pictures. It was Yunho, but he looked very young. He didn’t see Yunho’s usual gang of friends in ther.e There was one man who was in most of the pictures. In fact there was a solo picture of him. Changmin flipped to the first page, it read

 

_‘To the best couple,_

_Yunho_

_ & _

_Hojun’_

 

Hojun. This dude again! If he was an old flame, Yunho seemed to be a lot more attached to him than So Young.

 

* * *

 

“Omma! I didn’t know you were coming”, Yunho exclaimed as he saw his mother in his living room.

 

Things had been tense between them since Yunho had informed that he had decided to marry Changmin. Maybe the fact that she was here meant that she was finally coming to terms with his decision.  

 

“I had something important to ask of you, it could not wait”, she replied somewhat stiffly.

 

“What is it”, asked Yunho confused.

 

“When you got engaged to So Young, I gave you a ring, remember ? The one that had been passed down our family in generations. By tradition, the eldest child’s spouse should wear it”, she explained.

 

The realization dawned on Yunho. It was probably her way of giving her blessings to their marriage.

 

“Oh yeah! I have it with me. I just haven’t had a chance to get it adjusted according to Changminnie’s finger. Thanks for reminding me, I will get that done tomorrow”, said Yunho with a bright smile. Finally, his mother was coming around.

 

“I didn’t come here to remind you”, she said. Yunho was perplexed, what else could it be ?

 

“I would like the ring back”, she added crossing her arms in a defensive gesture.

 

Stunned, Yunho couldn’t say anything else.

“I will go get it”, he said quietly and went to retrieve the ring. He came back and handed over the ring to his mother. His mother displayed no emotions in her face as she took it back.

 

“I have nothing against Changmin but I cannot consent to this marriage. I know your grandmother and grandfather vetoed the decision so it’s happening anyway”, she said sounding hurt. She had a right to be. But Yunho couldn’t make everyone happy. Sadly this time it was his Mother who felt left out.

 

“This is not just the matter of a ring. Every mother has aspirations for their child’s marriage. I have always wanted the best for you. And when such a person came around I had hoped to convey my blessings by passing on this ring. The fact that you are compromising on that, is a tough pill to swallow. And giving away this ring now just feels plain wrong”, she explained.

 

Yunho just quietly listened to her. The least he could do was to let her vent.

 

“The ring belonged to your grandmother before me so if you really want Changmin to have it then you could have her veto me again”, she added somewhat bitterly.

 

“I wouldn’t do that! This is yours”, Yunho said fervently.

 

“I guess in some things, my words still carry some weight for you”, she said with a bit of anger.

 

“They always do”, Yunho insisted earnestly.

 

“No, at least not compared to your Changminnie”, she said before she stormed out of Yunho’s house.

 

* * *

 

“You are kidding me, right”, Changmin remarked looking at the outfit his mother was holding. They were in the showroom to finalize his wedding look.

 

“This is so beautiful. You will look like a prince right out of fairy-tales”, his mother said quite smitten with the white shirt which had ruffles hanging from it and the collar decorated with diamond studs.

 

“Mom, this is ridiculous. It has long ruffles hanging from my sleeves. I can literally sweep the floor with it”, Changmin said drawing attention to the ruffles.

 

“This looked so good in Milan fashion week! With Changmin’s body and height, this is going to look even more stunning”, remarked the stylist.

 

“See, even an expert agrees with me”, said his mother now that she had an ally.

 

“Why can’t I wear a tux like a normal person”, argued Changmin. He did not sign up for this!

 

“Min-ah, you are my only child! I have been planning your whole marriage in my head forever! Besides, people were talking about my wedding look for days, back when I got married! You at least have to look 10 times of that”, argued his mother fervently.

 

“I already agreed to straighten my hair and put on makeup. Could you go easy on the whole outfit thing and let me wear a tux”, pleaded Changmin.

 

“Then, you have to budge on the whole veil thing”, said his mother not giving him an inch.

 

“Absolutely no veil! I don’t care if it will be short, stylish or netted. I am not wearing that”, maintained Changmin.

 

“What about pinning the baby breath flowers to your hair”, asked his mother. It was like one thing after another!

 

“No”, said Changmin firmly.

 

“Min-ah, you know I pinned it to my hair when I got married. I really really wish for you to do the same. It will be such a good memory”, his mother insisted. Great, emotional blackmail! He was so tired.

 

Changmin collapsed on the couch and said, “I give up! Do whatever”

 

His mother and the stylist looked positively gleeful at this answer.

 

“Except the veil thing. No veils”, Changmin put his foot down on that.

 

* * *

 

“Siwon, strange to see you here”, exclaimed Yunho as he saw Siwon approaching him, Donghae and Heechul at their bowling lane.

 

“I have been looking for you. Your assistant guessed that you would here”, Siwon said urgently.

 

“What’s wrong”, asked Yunho a bit worried. He had never seen Siwon this worried.

 

“I heard that you are marrying Changmin”, he looked pained as he said that.

 

“Dude, it was like in all newspapers, magazines and entertainment news”, Heechul remarked at that.

 

“Twitter too. Commoner becoming a Duke sort of story”, said Donghae not falling behind.

 

“I thought I had warned you about him already”, said Siwon.

 

“Warned”, asked Heechul ?

 

Wow, he had a discussion about Changmin with Siwon a long time back! Back then, he knew nothing about the Omega.

 

“I know we discussed that he could be cold and rude. But the more time I spent with him, I saw a lot of good things in him. Besides, first impressions aren’t always accurate”, argued Yunho.

 

“That might have been your first impression but I have known Changmin for a long time. He changed his behavior towards you because you were obviously the best pick he could have gotten to get over his financial troubles. I didn’t think you would fall for it”, pressed on Siwon.

 

“He seemed pretty genuine to me”, defended Yunho.

 

“Please, this is what he used to do in college! He would accept all the expensive gifts and let people take him out to the most expensive places, give them false hopes. All the while, he would be fucking his secret boyfriend on the side. Bet, he is doing that right now too”, said Siwon with a smirk. Yunho realized that his hands were closed tightly into a fist, he had even started grinding his teeth. The whole thing pissed Yunho off. Heechul and Donghae also seemed to pick up on his anger.

 

“I know, that face can bewitch anyone but you are better than this, man! That guy is a grade A gold-digger. Doesn’t even talk to people unless he sees profit in them. Your reputation is at stake here. I hope you make the right decision”, he said before he saw Yunho’s clenched jaw and retreated.

 

“What an asshole! What do you think Hyung”, Donghae said patting Yunho’s shoulder.

 

“It must be serious if he came looking for Yunho”, remarked Heechul carefully.

 

“You are really buying all of this”, Donghae asked surprised.

 

“Logically, if you see. He has nothing to gain from lying”, reasoned Heechul.

 

“What are you saying”, asked Yunho losing his patience.

 

“Maybe he knows something we don’t”, said Heechul not outright pointing fingers.

 

“Whatever he said just doesn’t match up with whatever I have observed about Changmin. Besides, I am the one who asked him to marry him, which kind of negates the whole narrative of Changmin trying to trap me”, defended Yunho fervently.

 

“Still, it’s better to be safe than sorry”, said Heechul with a shrug.

 

“I don’t get it”, asked Yunho confused.

 

“You guys don’t actually sign the contract until after the wedding ceremony, right”, asked Heechul.

 

“Right”, confirmed Yunho.

 

“So, just add one more clause that if he is caught cheating then he won’t get a single penny from you. No reason why he wouldn’t agree to it, unless he is guilty”, Heechul slid it in casually hoping the Alpha wouldn’t blow up.

 

Yunho couldn’t believe what he was hearing he turned to look at Donghae for support.

 

“Don’t look at me. I don’t know how this whole contract marriage thing works, man”. Donghae bailed.

 

* * *

 

 

“Marriage invitation”, said Taemin opening the envelope that Changmin had handed him over.

 

“Why are you so surprised? Did you really think I wouldn’t invite you to my marriage”, asked Changmin with a chuckle.

 

“It’s just the whole thing seems so surreal. I can’t believe, the next time we meet, it will be at your husband’s house”, remarked Taemin.

 

Changmin scrunched his nose a bit at the word ‘husband’

 

“I guess”, he replied.

 

“You can get a plus one so Jongin can come too”, he threw in casually to see how Taemin would react.

 

Taemin went stiff and then replied, “He won’t be my plus one”

 

“Why? Did he finally go official with someone else and ditch his friend”, asked Changmin getting some water for myself trying to act natural. He turned and saw that Taemin was deep in his thought. He finished his water and came back to the living room where Taemin was sitting.

 

Time to apply reverse psychology. This better work!

“Anyway, good riddance! You can do so much better than him”, said Changmin settling on the couch.

 

“No, I can’t”, said Taemin quietly

 

“What”, egged on Changmin.

 

“Jongin may not be perfect. But he means a lot to me. For years, he has always kept giving me everything; his affection, his love, his understanding. And has never asked for anything in return”, said Taemin earnestly.

 

“If that’s the case then why does he still not admit that you are boyfriends”, argued Changmin.

 

“Because, I asked him to”, replied Taemin looking defeated.

 

This was unexpected. All this while, Changmin mentally blamed Jongin for everything. Shit, he might have to revise his book!

 

“Taemin-ah, why”, asked Changmin softly.

 

“My mom”, said Taemin. When Changmin thought Taemin won’t expand on it any further, he spoke.

 

“She believed that my father would marry her but he left her to raise me as a single mother and married someone else who matched his status”

 

“And you think Jongin would turn out like that”, asked Changmin trying to understand Taemin’s plight.

 

“My mom knew my father for years. Trusted him enough to have a child out of wedlock and still he left her. When I first introduced her to Jongin, she had warned me. How can I forget something like that”, said Taemin, looking absolutely miserable.

 

“Even if you say that, you do realize that all you have done till now is defend the guy”, stated Changmin.

 

“Taemin, feelings don’t just turn off because we want them to. You already care about him so much, you think denying that will hurt you less when he inevitably leaves you”, asked Changmin but Taemin did not respond to it.

 

“This kind of ostrich mentality will get you nowhere. You will stay miserable until Jongin finally moves on and then plunge straight into depression”, said Changmin not mincing his words.

 

“You are already too attached to him, no matter what happens you will get hurt. In that case, should you really abandon something you have in your grasp for something that might happen in the future”, he asked Taemin.

Taemin seemed to be thinking it over. Maybe he was finally getting to him. Suddenly, his phone went off. He pulled it out to cancel it but he saw that it was Kyuhyun’s manager. This was strange. Kyu’s manager would never call him unless if it was a true emergency.

 

“Sorry, I will have to take this”, apologized Changmin as he took the call.

 

“Hyung-nim”, he greeted.

 

“Changmin-ssi, I am so sorry but this is a dire situation otherwise I would have never called you”, he heard over the phone. Changmin’s heart pounded he suspected the worst!

 

“What’s going on”, he asked.

 

“Kyu, he is at this club and he refuses to move from there without meeting you. He’s been drinking and somebody else has the club booked but he isn’t budging from his seat”, the manager replied. Changmin breathed a sigh of relief that Kyu was at least bodily unharmed.

 

“Text me the address”, he asked the manager and hung up.

 

“What’s going on”, asked Taemin worried.

 

“Kyu might be in trouble”, said Changmin running his fingers through his hair.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“What kind of a bachelor’s party is this? Where are the strippers and the pole dancers”, demanded Heechul.

 

“Hyukjae would kill me if I did that”, replied Donghae

 

“This is what you get when you put committed people on planning committee. You guys just turn everything boring, it’s like your super power or something”, Heechul dissed Donghae.

 

“You should be thankful, if it was Yunho, we would all be in a bowling alley playing until either Yunho won or our arms fell off”, retorted Donghae.

 

“It’s not funny coz its true”, said Heechul just horrified imagining the scenario.

 

“You guys should be dancing”, Yunho came in swaying to the music.

 

“I think you have been dancing enough for the both of us”, Heechul taunted.

 

“Who pissed in his Cheerios”, Yunho asked Donghae.

 

“I am tired, you handle him”, Donghae bailed.

 

“Are you still pissed off about me not adding the extra clause to the contract”, Yunho asked a frustrated Heechul.

 

“It’s just, I don’t understand what you still need to think about. This is all a big business deal, right ? Then, this is a perfectly logical thing to do to safeguard yourself”, went off Heechul.

 

“It is based on a business deal but there is still a relationship here. There is a minimum amount of a trust that is required for it to work. Changmin never put up any such clauses from his side. Hell, he said I would keep the royal title no matter what happened! After all of that, I cannot humiliate him by putting that clause in there”, insisted Yunho

 

“You know most of the married couples do run into issues with their spouses cheating on them at some point? I should know, I make a living out of it”, Heechul scoffed.

 

“I am not denying that. But I want to trust Changmin. If something like that happens in the future then I will be the fool. I will face the consequences”, said Yunho with an air of finality.

 

“And you say you don’t love him”, Heechul muttered, the music in the club drowning his voice.

 

“What”, asked Yunho.

 

“Nothing, this is just depressing! Just bring me a drink”, demanded Heechul before he went off to sulk in a corner.

 

Yunho couldn't find a waiter so decided to go up to the bar himself. When Yunho reached there he could see that the staff was talking among themselves and their manager was trying to soothe over a guy at the bar. He dismissed her and remained seated. The manager came to Yunho and greeted him.

 

“What’s going on”, asked Yunho.

 

“Apologies, sir! We know you booked the place but he is a very rich patron of our establishment. He doesn’t seem to want to leave, we are trying to diffuse the situation as smoothly as possible. We are really sorry about this”, she apologized.

 

“Well, if he is an important client, then I guess he can stay. Besides, we are all in the other room and waiters are supposed to collect drinks from the bar anyway. Nobody’s really going to be occupying the bar. I understand, business is important”, said Yunho trying to lend a helping hand.

 

“Thank you so much, sir! We will definitely throw in an happy hour”, she added, visibly relaxing.

 

“Ahh... there’s no need”, Yunho waved it off.

 

“Please, sir! We insist”, she insisted.

 

* * *

 

 

Heechul finished his drink in one-shot.

 

“That was fast”, remarked Yunho sarcastically.

 

“You should have brought two”, retorted Heechul.

 

“Yes, my mistake”, said Yunho rolling his eyes. Heechul-hyung could be really difficult to handle sometimes and the fact that he called Changmin a diva was the most hypocritical thing ever!

 

When Yunho came to the bar a second time, he noticed Changmin entering. Yunho thought his eyes were playing tricks but it was unmistakable. There was no one who would cut a stunning figure as the Omega did. He noticed one the staff going towards Changmin probably checking if he was in the guest list.

 

“Excuse me”, Yunho stopped him in his tracks.

 

“You can let him be. He is my fiance”, he instructed the staff so he left.

 

“What is wrong with you”, Yunho heard the Omega’s voice. Was Changmin talking to the guy who was refusing to move from the bar ? Curiously, Yunho tried to take a good look at the guy but he was wearing a hat and a face mask.

 

“No, I just figured I ought to be throwing you a Bachelor’s party of your own. Jung Yunho, that’s his name, isn’t it”, that caught Yunho’s attention.

 

“Cut the crap and say what you want to”, said Changmin losing his patience.

 

“Are you really gonna get married to him”, asked Kyuhyun, slurring his words.

 

“Yes”, Changmin replied sharply.

 

“Like ‘really’”, asked Kyuhyun.

 

“I didn’t get you”, asked Changmin confused. Great now Kyu was babbling nonsense!

 

“Like are you gonna pack his lunch and kiss him off to work ? Then, keep his bed warm so that he comes back and fucks two and half kids into you”, managed Kyu.

 

Changmin was clenching his jaw at his crude words.

 

“I am this close to punching you. If you don’t want a broken nose, I suggest you get to the point”, the Omega warned.

 

“This is a contract marriage right ? A business deal of sorts? Your title for his money? So, you can save your Mom”, asked Kyuhyun narrowing his eyes.

 

“More or less”, replied Changmin.

 

“Then, maybe we don’t have to break up”, Kyuhyun suggested.

 

“How drunk are you ? We broke up two months ago”, reminded Changmin

 

“Who says we have to stay like that”, Kyuhyun shot back.

 

“I am getting married, tomorrow”, said Changmin outraged.

 

“Sure, in name only. It’s not like you guys are promising each other fidelity”, retorted Kyuhyun.

 

“I will have to ask you to stop right there”, Changmin said enraged.

 

“You cannot expect Jung Yunho to not take other lovers while he is in this sham of a marriage with you”, scoffed Kyuhyun. Changmin couldn’t believe the utter nonsense that was coming out of his mouth.

 

“And you know all about Yunho, don’t you”, Changmin asked furious.

 

“I know how all these businessmen are. You think they got where they did with their morals intact”, shot back Kyuhyun bitterly.

 

“I neither know nor care about others. But I know Yunho and I trust my judgement”, shot back Changmin with conviction.

 

“But say he does start fucking someone else on the side, what rights do you have? What can you do other than watch him humiliate you”, he could see Kyuhyun was enjoying hurting him. he did not recognize this man.

 

“If it comes down to that then I will pay for it. I will live with consequences of my decision”, Changmin said with an air of finality. He had had enough of this crap.

 

He got up from his seat and said,

“I don’t even know how you could even suggest something like that. Stop drinking, go home with your manager. And when tomorrow you feel like the ass you have acted like today then do me a favor and don’t reach out to me”

 

Kyuhyun’s manager came in and then hauled Kyuhyun out of there to the safety of his car. Changmin stood there numb for a while processing everything that had just happened.

 

“Changmin-ah”, he heard. He knew before he turned in the direction. There was Yunho standing with a sympathetic expression on his face. Changmin felt humiliated.

 

* * *

 

They went back to Yunho’s jeep to talk about it. Yunho was sitting on the driver seat and Changmin was on the passenger side.

 

“I met him in college. I was very quiet, didn’t talk to anyone. He approached me and we soon became friends. We had same interests, our sense of humor matched. He wasn’t weird about me being a royal. We started dating after a while. We kept it a secret. His career was such that his image had to be that of a single and unattached guy”, explained Changmin staring off in a distance.

 

Yunho figured that Siwon’s lies were based on some half truths like the fact that Changmin was indeed in a secret relationship. It was pretty easy to guess the person definitely belonged to the entertainment industry.

 

“He got into financial troubles and then his only way out was a marriage of convenience. So, he broke up with me. The first time I ran into you at Han River was just hours after we had broken up”,continued Changmin

 

Changmin’s puffy, red eyes that day and the fact that he was sitting there alone in the rain suddenly made more sense. It was hard to sympathize with a man who was responsible for Changmin’s tears.

 

“He’s a kind person. I don’t know why he behaved the way he did, today. I guess stress and situation can make people act out”, reasoned Changmin. He was still quite shocked to see Kyuhyun like that.

 

“Do you love him”, the question escaped from Yunho’s lips before he could even think about it.

 

“I care for him, he was my best friend” answered Changmin meeting Yunho’s eyes

 

“That still doesn’t answer my question”, insisted Yunho.

 

Changmin sighed and replied, “I think love is a hoax”

 

“Come Again”, asked Yunho after a moment of silence.

 

“Sure it’s nice to watch on TV or read in a book but practically the whole concept is ridiculous. Sure you develop certain kind of attachments and different kind of feelings but to think that the culmination of all of it is ‘love’ is strange”, expanded Changmin.

 

Yunho was bewildered by this whole theory,

“So, you are saying you dated someone without the expectation to fall in love”

 

“Like I said, we just clicked together. So, when he asked me to date him, I agreed because we always had a great time together. There was no doubt, we would click as a couple, the foundation was already there. I had expected some fun times and and someone who I could share my troubles with. There’s nothing else I wanted out of it”, replied Changmin.

 

“You didn’t want to marry him”, asked Yunho surprised.

 

“No, sharing my whole life with someone is just too much control to give up from my life. Given the choice, I would never choose it”, answered Changmin. Yunho looked at Changmin surprised.

 

“What, it’s not like I am your first choice either”, argued Changmin. Yunho felt like he should leave it alone. People believed in what they believed in. Yet, he could not let it go.

 

He turned towards Changmin and went off,

 

“Sorry but how could you not believe in love? Have you never felt it? Like when say someone unexpectedly puts an umbrella over your head when its raining. When someone suddenly brushes off dirt from your clothes with care and affection. Or just sometimes you see someone and you just get that tight and warm feeling in your chest”

 

Changmin chuckled and asked, “Seriously, what comic book did you fall out of”

 

“No, seriously. When you do it with someone you care about or have feelings for, you don’t feel it”, asked Yunho incredulously.

 

“You mean sex ? You can say it, you know. We are not minors here”, taunted Changmin.

 

“Fine. When you have sex with someone who you have strong feelings for; When they touch you, when you reciprocate, have you never felt this sense of everything just being ‘right’ and that you don’t ever want to let this go”, Yunho argued passionately.

 

Changmin was getting distracted by how good Yunho looked. He was wearing a leather jacket, he had put his hair up and was wearing earrings. And on top of that he was talking about sex. Yunho’s ‘Love is Real’ rant was pissing him off, he wanted to shut him off.

 

“You care about me, right”, asked Changmin, dead serious.

“Yes, is there a problem with that”, retorted Yunho. Changmin carefully moved to the driver’s seat and straddled Yunho’s lap facing him.

 

“What are you doing”, asked Yunho concerned. he wanted to pinch himself to ascertain if he was dreaming again but he had his lap full of a 6 ft 2’’ of a firecracker.

 

Changmin pressed the button to push Yunho’s seat further back so both of them could have enough space. Changmin then pushed up close against him.Their cocks rubbed against each other through their layers. Changmin whined while Yunho let out a breathy moan. Changmin got his face closer to Yunho’s. He hesitated for a moment or two before he licked at Yunho’s lips. His hands wandered, he scratched Yunho’s scalp with his nail. Yunho let out a moan at that and Changmin took the opportunity to push his tongue into the Alpha’s mouth.

 

Yunho enthusiastically responded to it. Before he knew Yunho’s hand was up his shirt and rubbing his nipples. He moaned so hard at that, he dug his nails into Yunho’s shoulder. Apparently, Yunho seemed to like that a lot because Changmin immediately felt his cock jump at that. God, Yunho was so huge down there. Just feeling it was making him wet. Soon they had to separate for air. Changmin was gasping for air but Yunho was somehow peppering his neck with soft kisses even when he catching his breath.

 

“So..”, Changmin managed between breaths. Yunho hummed into his neck. Changmin almost lost his train of thoughts. He somehow managed to pull himself away to look into Yunho’s eyes.

 

“Did you fall for me”, he asked looking into Yunho’s glassy eyes. A thud on the window interrupted them.

 

The windows were all fogged up. Yunho wiped it off to see Donghae and Heechul looking at him stunned. Changmin was flustered, he immediately rushed to the passenger’s side. Once they were decent, Yunho opened the car door.

 

“Man, we were worried sick thinking that you had somehow gotten drunk and taken off with some twink”, Donghae scolded him.

 

“But here you are, getting a head-start on your wedding night”, Heechul remarked lifting his brow in Changmin’s direction.

 

“I have to go”, Changmin said stepping out of the car.

 

“See you tomorrow”, waved Heechul at him.

 

Heechul and Donghae started giving him for crap but Yunho’s eyes were trained on his fiance. When Changmin reached his car he turned to look at Yunho and gave him quite the loaded look before he got into his car.

 

“Stop with the eye fucking. There are people around you”, Donghae punched his Yunho in his arm. It was as if a spell was lifted and Yunho realized what he had been doing.

 

“I didn’t even get to lose the wedding ring as your best man. You never handed me one”, whined Heechul. And that reminded Yunho of something very critical, there was no ring

 

“Shit”, he cursed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, we get the wedding, finally!


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I am late. My work got the better of him this past week but at least I was able to get this chapter written. Since I missed last week's update, I crammed 2 chapters worth of content into this big one. So, the next chapter (Chapter 13) would be posted the next Sunday ( April 21st).
> 
> Thank you everyone who has been leaving really kind words for me, I will definitely reply to all of them. Hope you all have a great weekend!

“Did you manage to get a ring”, asked Donghae concerned as soon as he entered the venue.

 

“Just give him one of your own. It's not like he would know”, said Heechul, making light of the situation. He was too busy staring at himself in the mirror to bother with the ring-drama.

 

Yunho shook his head at Heechul and replied, “I did get one and no it's not my own”

 

“Here”, Yunho said as he handed over the ring box to Heechul.

 

“Don't lose it”, warned Yunho. Donghae egged Heechul to open the box and he did because he was curious himself.

 

“Platinum ? What the heck man ? Like he isn't bleeding you dry, already”, remarked Heechul examining the ring.

 

Yunho looked at bit offended by the remark. Donghae elbowed Heechul to stop him from making things any worse.

 

“What ?  Stop elbowing me”, Heechul scolded Donghae, choosing to ignore the fact that he had pinched a nerve.

 

“I'd appreciate if you didn't talk like that in front of him or the guests”, said Yunho seriously.

 

“Right, there will be enough people talking about it anyway”, retorted Heechul. Looked like Heechul was in the mood to pick a fight.

 

“Would you stop being like that? Hyung is finally getting married”, cajoled Donghae trying to get things under control.

 

“And before you and Hyukjae, which is bizarre”, remarked Heechul.

 

Then in a surprising turn of events, he grabbed Yunho’s face with both his hands and said,

 

“Also, no one is ever going to be good enough for my Yundol”

 

That seemed to break the ice and a smile slipped out of Yunho’s lips.

 

“You sound like his mother”, remarked Donghae with a chuckle. Now both Yunho and Heechul turned towards Donghae looking somewhat offended.

 

Donghae immediately back-peddled, “C’mon, it's way less insensitive than the money thing”

 

Yunho shook his head, nothing less to be expected from his best friends!

 

* * *

 

 

Changmin regretted his life as the stylist noona, Hyejin put all her concentration on straightening his hair. The usual humidity was making his hair more frizzier so Hyejin went ham with all kinds of hair product

 

“If only you had let me cut my hair”, Changmin whined to his mother.

 

“Why would you say something like that”, Hyejin exclaimed horrified at the thought of it.

 

“He doesn't know what he is talking about”, Changmin’s mother waved it off.

 

“Just keep it for the wedding, Min-ah. These pictures are going to last forever”, she consoled Changmin.

 

“Tomorrow, the first thing I am gonna do is chop them off”, said Changmin.

 

“What about the coronation ceremony”, asked Hyejin perplexed.

 

“No”, Changmin said immediately when he saw his mother realizing that the coronation ceremony would be held sometime after the marriage.

 

“Min-ah, those pictures are important too”, his mother argued.

 

“Non negotiable”, said Changmin, putting his foot firmly down on the matter. But the effect of it was lost because Hyejin came at him with an eyelash curler.

 

“Nothing like this will happen for the coronation”, Changmin stated just before he endured the inevitable pinching on his eyelids that occurred when someone else curled his lashes for him.

 

“Our Changminnie’s husband is so handsome! When I saw him for the first time, I thought he was one those TV drama actors. That is not the face of a non-celebrity”, said Hyejin when she was finished with the curler.

 

Changmin’s mother seemed a little smug at the comment.

 

“Of course! Our Min-ah’s husband has to be pretty! They will have the most beautiful kids too”, she said unable to hide her pride.

 

Her last sentence though, left a bad taste in Changmin’s mouth. He went silent and stared off into space, there would be no children.

 

* * *

 

“You look like a Prince”, remarked Yunho’s grandmother patting his cheeks.

 

“The title of Duke won’t do enough justice to my Yundol, don’t you think so”, she turned to ask Yunho’s mother. Yunho’s mother just forced out a tight smile in response. Yunho’s smile instantly fell.

 

“Would you cheer up, your son is getting married”, Yunho’s grandmother egged her on.

 

“There are so many people happy about this, does it matter if I am not”, shot back Yunho’s mother. Yunho felt like the worst person in the world.

 

“Let’s not start anything, here”, reminded Yunho’s grandfather. Yunho walked up to his mother. His mother was still not looking at him.

 

“Omma”, he called out to get her attention. She finally looked at him.

 

“I have always wanted you to walk me down the aisle. But if don’t want to, I won’t ask you to”, said Yunho earnestly.

 

“So, Changmin is really it for you ? You are really going ahead with this”, asked his mother, with a sliver of hope in her voice. Yunho hated to crush it but it was important to deliver the message that he was absolutely sure about what he was doing. He nodded his head firmly.

 

She looked disappointed with Yunho.

“Fine”, she said after a moment of silence and walked away from him.

 

* * *

 

The wedding ceremony started on time. First, it was the flower girl Eunchae, she was carried down the aisle by her mother. All the while, she tried to chew on the flowers she was holding. Yunho’s heart was full at the scene.

 

Then, Yunho walked up the aisle with his mother beside him. She remained quiet and stiff the whole time. Yunho knew he deserved the treatment but at least she did walk him down the aisle.

 

As they reached the end, she finally uttered, “If you really think you can find love in him, you are wrong”

 

Yunho wasn't looking for love, that is why he was getting married to Changmin in the first place. Still, those words affected him.

 

“So, looks like she finally came around”, he heard Heechul say as he joined Yunho for his best man duties.

 

“Somewhat”, said Yunho knowing that he was a long away away from getting any kind of approval from his mother.

 

“Oh, wow”, Heechul exclaimed. Yunho turned his attention in the direction of the entrance. Changmin entered with his mother beside him.

 

Yunho couldn’t tear his eyes away. Changmin looked like an angel walking the earth. He was wearing a diamond studded, high collared white shirt. There were drapes suspended from the shirt that were trailing behind the Omega as he walked down the aisle looking every bit of the Royal he was. His long bangs were styled, such that they were falling on his face on one side. On the other side, the bang was pinned behind his beautiful elven ear and that side was adorned by baby breath.

 

Yunho quickly noticed that Changmin’s mother was walking without her cane hence Changmin was supporting her. Yunho wasted no time in marching forward and joining both Changmin and his mother. He smiled and offered his arm to Changmin’s mother which she took gladly. Changmin seemed quite taken aback by it. So, they both supported her as they walked to the end of the aisle.

 

After that Changmin’s father came with the cane and helped her off to her seat. Yunho turned to face Changmin. The Omega seemed to be frowning at him.

“Why do you look taller than me”, Changmin asked. Yunho had hoped that, it would go unnoticed but hard luck!

 

“I don’t know what you are talking about”, said Yunho trying to avoid the topic. Changmin looked at his shoes and immediately knew.

 

“Insoles? Really ”, he whispered, judging Yunho harshly.

 

“You look so pretty, Changminnie”, said Yunho in a last ditch effort to divert Changmin’s attention.

 

“Don’t change the topic”, retorted Changmin, the Omega was on to him.

 

The priestess cleared her throat to get their attention. Yunho and Changmin shut up like two noisy kids being scolded by their teacher.

 

Changmin pretty much tuned out when the priestess started to talk about the sacredness of marriage and all that jazz. He surreptitiously glanced at the Alpha. Yunho seemed to be completely paying attention to the Priestess’ words.

 

Changmin took the time to appreciate Yunho in a well-cut tuxedo. The man really had quite the figure and the tux was making it pop out. Changmin had no idea, how he had gotten that lucky.

 

“Uhh.. I would like to say my own vows”, Yunho’s words surprised Changmin. He immediately stared at the ground in panic! Why would Yunho want to write his own vows when he was marrying someone like Changmin!

 

Yunho cleared his throat. Changmin was so not ready for what was about to come.

 

“Changdol”, he heard Yunho’s voice. Yunho broke into a embarrassed laugh immediately after.

 

Suddenly, Yunho reached out and held both of Changmin’s hands in his own. Changmin went stiff, this was all very unexpected.

 

Yunho looked at Changmin but the Omega wouldn’t meet his eyes. Yunho was suddenly reminded of the first time they had met. Yunho had thought that it was disrespectful of Changmin to not look at him. But now, he sees it for what it actually is. Yunho quickly glanced at the Omega’s ear and could see it getting red. Changmin was embarrassed. Yunho felt a little validated that he had managed to read Changmin successfully.

 

Yunho cleared his throat and said,

 

“We haven’t known each other for a long time. But I am so happy that you are the one standing here”

 

Changmin met his eyes, looking surprised. Yunho gave a firm nod in response.

 

“When you smile, your eyes go all mismatched, it is such a beautiful sight. I want to protect that smile. I promise to protect you, no matter what”, concluded Yunho.

 

Changmin felt his ears heat up. He couldn't meet Yunho’s eyes any more. He thought he was immune to cheesiness but how does someone deal with sincerity like that. What did Yunho, really see in him ? Were these his feelings towards Changmin or was this something Yunho reserved for his husband, no matter who took the position ?

 

Since Yunho was a teenager he had always dreamed of writing his own vows when he married the love of his life. Changmin wasn't quite the ‘love of his life’ but he was the one Yunho was getting married to. He had thought long about what he should say. But finally he had gotten rid of all the flowery words and just said whatever was truly felt about Changmin and their marriage.

 

The priestess turned towards Changmin expecting him to say his own vows. But Changmin had nothing . He felt awful because literally everyone was looking at him, expecting some kind of reciprocation. But what was he supposed to do? Talking was never his strong suit and even if he could add something it would fall spectacularly short of what Yunho had said. So, he kept quiet hoping that the priestess would move on and read him the usual ones. He felt Yunho squeeze his hands a bit. He met Yunho’s eyes and Yunho gave him a reassuring nod.

 

“Shim Changmin, do you promise to be with this man, in sickness and in health”, asked the priestess when she realized that Changmin had nothing to say.

 

“I do”, replied Changmin promptly.

 

“Jung Yunho, do you take Shim Changmin as your husband”, asked the priestess turning to Yunho.

 

“I do”, replied Yunho with a smile, squeezing Changmin’s hands once again.

 

“Shim Changmin, do you take Jung Yunho as your husband”, asked the priestess one final time.

 

“Yes”, Changmin said, no hesitation whatsoever, squeezing Yunho’s hand like it was an there as an emotional support.

 

“The rings”, the priestess prompted. Yunho finally let go of his hands. Heechul handed him the wedding ring. Changmin put his right hand forward. Yunho held his fingers. They were small and cute, somehow Yunho hadn't noticed it before. He was felt nervous as he slid the ring in Changmin’s fingers. As expected, the ring was too loose on him. Yunho heard a quiet chuckle from Heechul.

 

Yunho felt horrible he gave Changmin an apologetic smile but Changmin just casually took his hand back like nothing was wrong. Changmin’s father passed him a ring. Yunho was just now noticing that Changmin didn't have a best man. It was strange but then Yunho was reminded of the fact that Changmin had revealed that his ex was his best friend. Yunho wondered if Changmin couldn't bear to give the position of ‘best man’ away to anyone else.

 

Changmin cleared his throat as a gesture for Yunho to put his hand forward. Changmin slid the ring into his finger. It was a perfect fit. Of course, it was, Changmin had made sure of that. He had personally come over and taken one of Yunho’s ring as a reference while Yunho had left everything to his wedding planner. Suddenly, Yunho felt a bit inadequate.

 

“By the powers vested in me, I pronounce you husband and husband”, proclaimed the Priestess. Everyone started clapping.

 

Yunho knew they should kiss but he wasn't very sure if Changmin wanted to for the kiss as well. Changmin had stepped closer to him but he seemed to be in two minds as well, his hands awkwardly hovering over Yunho.

 

Yunho decided that he would play it safe and go for a soft peck on Changmin’s cheek. Apparently Changmin seemed to have the same idea so he turned his face at the wrong time and their lips touched, their noses smashed against each other awkwardly. Yunho still forged ahead and softly sucked on Changmin’s lower lip. He was sure he tasted a hint of strawberry. Yunho just had to have another taste. They separated a bit so that their noses weren't touching anymore. Yunho brought his hand up and titled Changmin’s chin up to get more access. He then dove in a took slow and sultry licks of Changmin’s lips. Changmin seemed to be getting into it as he felt the Omega’s hand digging into his arm. Changmin’s tongue peeked out and briefly rubbed against Yunho’s.

 

“PG 13”, Heechul’s warning covered by a series of fake coughs made Yunho realise where he was. Yunho and Changmin bolted apart. Both of them were too embarrassed to meet anyone else’s eyes.

 

“Wow, you guys really have a thing for doing it in public places”, Heechul remarked. Both Yunho and Changmin looked at him, horrified.

 

* * *

 

Changmin was so tired of posing for pictures. There had been a sea of press reporters ready to get the money shot of the new royal couple. That had lasted forever. When that was done, they had to sit and pose for the photographer that was hired for the wedding itself.

 

Jihye was also clicking pictures but she didn't ask them to pose. She had told Changmin she liked taking candid shots, anyway. Bless her soul!

 

Yunho on the other hand, seemed to have been injected with extra dose of energy. He also seemed to tap into an endless stream of patience. He seemed to thrive under all the attention.

 

Currently, he was indulging his niece as the photographer was trying to get the shots of them together with Eunchae and Jihye.

 

“You look so pretty”, remarked Jihye breaking Changmin out of his thoughts.

 

“Ahh...not at all! They buried me under so much makeup”, waved it off Changmin, not sure how to deal with that compliment.

 

“It suits you”, Yunho chimed in. Eunchae looked at him and gave her expert opinion as well.

 

“Pwetty”, she said extending her hands towards Changmin’s face. Changmin couldn't help but smile at her. She beckoned Changmin to come closer. Out of curiosity, Changmin bent forward and lowered his head so that he was in her range of motion.

 

As soon as he did that, Eunchae immediately went for the baby breath that was pinned to Changmin’s hair.

 

“Ahh...”, Changmin winced in pain and Eunchae pulled at his hair unintentionally while trying to grab the flowers.

 

“Chae-aah, stop it”, Jihye said and immediately pulled Eunchae away from him.

 

“Sorry”, she immediately apologized.

 

“It’s fine”, said Changmin trying to right the flower.

 

“She’s hungry, let’s go eat”, said Jihye before she picked up Eunchae and left.

 

While they were leaving Eunchae waved forlornly at Changmin and said, “Chami”

 

She was so precious, she literally tugged at Changmin’s heartstrings. Even though Changmin wasn't really fond of the idea of becoming a parent, he had to admit that it would be so wonderful to have a daughter like little Chae.

 

That being said, Changmin focused at the task on hand. These flowers needed to come off, now!

 

“Need some help”, offered Yunho.

 

Changmin eyed Yunho skeptically and replied,

 

“From you? I am not so sure about that”

 

“Yah, I can unpin flowers from your hair”, argued Yunho, taking Changmin’s answer as a personal insult.

 

“Without pulling out some of my hair”, asked Changmin doubtfully. Yunho didn't seem like the type to do work which required delicate attention.

 

Yunho seemed to have lost some of his confidence too, faced with Changmin’s question. but he wasn't the one to back out.

 

“I can make it work”, he said, his hands already moving to make a quick work of the hairpins.

 

“Careful”, warned Changmin.

 

“Yah, your lack of faith in me is astounding”, retorted Yunho. As expected, Changmin felt a hard tug on his hair.

 

“Ahh..”, he winced in pain.

 

“It’s okay”, said Yunho trying to cover up his mistake.

 

“Here”, he said once he was done, showing off the pins and flowers as an achievement. Changmin glared at him in response and pointed to the strands of hair that were attached to the pin.

 

“I never claimed to be perfect”, defended Yunho hurriedly pulling away the strands from the pins.

 

“They are so pretty, though. Why did you want to take it out”, asked Yunho looking at the flowers.

 

“You try pinning something to your hair for half a day. It was giving me a headache”, said Changmin still rubbing the spot where the flowers had been pinned.

 

“Why did you choose to wear it if it was that troublesome”, asked Yunho confused.

 

“You think I had a say in any of this ? This was all my mother. I know I look ridiculous”, replied Changmin with a scoff.

 

“I think it’s sweet that you went along with her wishes”, Yunho remarked quite amused at Changmin’s plight. Sadist!

 

“Also, you look beautiful”, Yunho casually dropped in looking away from Changmin. Changmin didn't quite know how to respond to it.

 

“Can’t wait to chop off this hair”, he said fussing with his hair.

 

“Noo”, Yunho immediately replied turning to look at Changmin.

 

“I mean, why”, he corrected himself when he saw Changmin looking at him surprised.

 

The question seemed to piss Changmin off. Yunho realized, it was Changmin’s hair he shouldn't have to explain it to anyone else. Shit,he had just wanted to convey that he loved the way Changmin looked right now. but he had to control the damage before Changmin killed him with his glare.

 

“I mean, you would look pretty either way”, he finally said. Changmin still looked doubtful but let it go.

 

Yunho concentrated on putting the baby breath in his suit breast pocket. They were pretty, Yunho didn't want to throw them away. But since they were loose, they failed to stay bunched up in his pocket, making it look tacky.

 

Changmin took pity on him and used the hair pins to pin the flowers together in a bunch to his breast pocket. Changmin moved a bit back and admired his work by tracing Yunho’s breast pocket with his hands. Yunho heart felt full.

 

He brought his hand over Changmin’s. The Omega looked at him inquisitively.

 

“Let’s dance. I promise not to step on your drapes”, Yunho asked with a smile.

 

“You already stepped on it like 15 times”, scoffed Changmin. The Alpha never paid attention to his surroundings. Changmin was worried that he might trip over his drapes and fall on his face.

 

“Not anymore”, insisted Yunho. Changmin was still quite wary.

 

“C’mon”, Yunho said pulling Changmin for a dance. There was no escape so Changmin followed.

 

They started a slow waltz. Changmin really hoped that Yunho refrained from spinning him, his dress was really not conducive for dancing.

 

“I said so much about you, you didn’t say anything about me”, said Yunho with a pout. A 30 year old man should not be looking that adorable with pout!

 

“You want to open up a mutual admiration society here”, Changmin shot back.

 

“No, but something like Yunho, you took my breath away or So fucking handsome, would do”, said Yunho in a high pitched voice. Changmin was sorely tempted to step on the Alpha’s foot but he refrained.

 

“First of all, I don’t sound like that. Second, you could never get me drunk enough to say that”, retorted Changmin.

 

Yunho continued pouting. Oh what the hell!

 

“You clean up pretty well”, remarked Changmin, that was probably the nicest thing he had said about anyone.

 

“Such high praise! I am afraid I might get a big head”, teased Yunho.

 

“I will step on your foot”, warned Changmin.

 

“I will shut up”, said Yunho making a zipping motion near his mouth.

 

When they were done with their dance, they walked towards Yunho’s grandparents who were looking at them with amusement. Yunho’s grandmother looked positively gleeful.

 

“I told you, they make such a beautiful couple”, she pointed out.

 

“Now make haste and give me some beautiful grandchildren”, she added patting Yunho on his shoulder. Changmin almost choked in his own spit by the abruptness of it all.

 

“They just got married”, Yunho’s grandfather tried to calm her down.

 

“This is the new generation. They don’t wait till marriage, they get started early”, she retorted. Yunho and Changmin were both flustered by her statement.

 

“Let them be”, chided Yunho’s grandfather.

 

“What ? I am not wrong. Am I? Look at their faces, they are all red”, Yunho’s grandmother argued fervently.

 

Thankfully, Jihye noticed them and came to the rescue.

 

“The buffet is open. We should get something to eat”, Jihye said guiding them towards the tables. Changmin saw Jihye and Yunho do a low fist bump as She passed by him. They were a great team, Changmin had to admit.

 

* * *

 

“Why do you keep stealing stuff from my plate”, Changmin finally burst out when Yunho picked off some food from his plate for the umpteenth time.

 

“It looks tasty”, said Yunho chewing without a care in the world.

 

“You have the same thing on your plate”,pointed out Changmin. They scooped out the same things from the buffet, it made no sense why Yunho was eating from his plate.

 

“But you give such good reactions, I feel like I should have a taste of what you are eating as well”, explained Yunho.

 

“You are weird”, remarked Changmin because Yunho’s explanation made no sense whatsoever. Yunho took a sip of the wine from the glass.

 

“That was my glass”, complained Changmin.

 

Yunho just shrugged like it wasn't a big deal and said,

 

“Ohh... you could put your mouth on the other side of the rim”

 

The audacity of this man!

 

“An hour into this marriage and you are already coveting what is mine”, accused Changmin.

 

“You are free to covet mine, any time”, said Yunho in response as he continued eating from Changmin’s plate without any regrets.

 

Changmin absently grabbed Yunho’s glass and after a sip, he realized his mistake. Yunho looked too smug about that as he tucked in some more food.

 

* * *

 

“Taemin-ah”, Changmin called out to get Jongin and Taemin’s attention. They seemed to be busy chatting with each other.

 

“Hyung”, Taemin lit up when he noticed Changmin. He hugged Changmin and Changmin hugged him back gleefully. Once they separated, Changmin turned towards Jongin

 

“Jongin”, he greeted him tersely.

 

“Congratulations”, wished Jongin earnestly.

 

“Thanks. Didn’t quite expect to see you, here”, said Changmin amused by the interesting turn of events.

 

“I came as Taemin’s date”, replied Jongin with a brilliant smile.

 

“Is that so”, asked Changmin amused.

 

* * *

 

“Are you listening to me at all”, called out Heechul trying to get Yunho’s attention.

 

“Of course”, Yunho lied, his eyes clearly trained on Changmin talking to Kim Jongin. Changmin had invited him to the wedding, that had to mean that they were close because Changmin’s guest list was a very small one. He had said that he only had a few close friends. But Changmin never seemed to have mentioned Jongin. He did talk about Taemin but not this guy.

 

“Waah... your eyes are glued onto your husband”, whined Heechul

 

“I..”, Yunho tried to respond but he he was far too distracted. He was trying to think, Changmin’s ex seemed to have a career that relied on him being presented as a single man. Kim Jongin’s career didn't align with that or maybe it was if there was some other factor that he didn't take into consideration.

 

“Ooh... isn’t that Kim Jongin from that publishing house”, exclaimed Heechul now found interest in the scene in front of him.

 

“Yeah”, answered Yunho absently.

 

“Hmm... I didn’t know Changmin was friends with him. He is pretty loaded”, remarked Heechul with a shrug.

 

Changmin’s ex had financial issues so it couldn't have been Jongin. Surely ?

 

* * *

 

As Changmin about to turn away, Jongin called out to him, “Hyung”

 

Changmin turned to look back at him.

 

“Thank you”, Jongin said. Changmin just smiled a him in response. Atleast, they were working through their issues.

 

* * *

 

Yunho followed Changmin’s humming to their bedroom. ‘Their bedroom’, Yunho was still not used to it. But he absolutely loved Changmin’s habit of humming or singing a song under his breath when he went about his business. He could really get used to it, he sounded like an angel.

 

Changmin was busy reorganizing their closet, splitting it half and half between them. Yunho leaned at the door and just watched Changmin for a bit. The Omega had scrubbed all the makeup off his face. Yunho didn't know how it was possible but Changmin loooked even more stunning barefaced. He could hear Heechul in his mind calling him a sucker.

 

Changmin seemed to have noticed Yunho and come to a screeching halt.

 

“What is it? You are just standing there giving me anxiety”, asked Changmin shutting his, now empty suitcase.

 

Yunho scratched his head a bit, he wasn’t sure how to put it.

 

“We need to uhhh”, he trailed off trying to find the right word. Changmin on the other hand was enjoying the Alpha’s hesitance and trepidation.

 

“What ? Have sex”, completed Changmin plonking down on their bed with a smug smile. He almost cackled at how Yunho flabbergasted looked at that..

 

“I am ready, if you are. Let’s go, Tiger”, Changmin egged him on, patting the space beside him. Yunho could see that the Omega was enjoying seeing him all tongue-tied and awkward. Changmin stretched out on the bed with a smirk and shook his head at Yunho.

 

“The mating bite”, Yunho finally said.

 

Even though, they got married in the traditional way they still needed to mate as werewolves. Some people were ok with accepting the mating bite during the marriage ceremony. Others thought of it as more private and intimate and chose to do it in the privacy of their bedrooms on their first night.

 

“Oh”, Changmin responded going stiff. Yunho sighed and plonked on their bed beside Changmin. The Omega immediately bolted up and sat up straight.

 

“What ? Now...? ”, Changmin asked a little panicked.

 

“You want to schedule it for later”, teased Yunho now that Omega was on the backfoot.

 

“Shut up. Let’s just get it over with”, shot back Changmin. There was the feisty Omega he married.

 

It was Yunho’s turn to panic as he saw the Omega taking off his tee.

 

“What are you doing”, asked Yunho, his eyes still stuck on the Omega’s fine form. Changmin was sculpted but not bulky at all. There was some strong muscle definition in his stomach but his pecs was mesmerizing. Those beautiful pink nipples, Yunho knew that he could get them all swollen and red if got his mouth on them. He was tempted to place his mating bite there.   

 

“I don’t want blood anywhere on my Tee. You should take yours off as well”, said Changmin as he pushed himself closer to Yunho.

 

Yeah, that wasn’t happening. Yunho was already losing his mind that he would be pressed up against Changmin, his hands roaming around that beautifully tanned bare skin, feeling the Omega’s temperature going up, tracing his goosebumps as Yunho claimed him with his mating bite. If he was bare as well, he would pop his knot in no time.

 

“No, I am good”, Yunho said pulling himself together. There was a moment where Yunho and Changmin just looked at each other, their breaths the only sounds in the room.

 

“You can go first”, said Yunho closing the gap between them even further. Changmin closed his eyes and gathered himself before he reached out and and placed his hands on Yunho’s shoulders. Changmin lowered his head and buried his his nose on the junction where Yunho’s neck met his shoulders.

 

He took his time scenting the Alpha. It was a heady one. He couldn’t himself from licking the place a bit, wanting a taste of what was spreading a tingling sensation all over is body. Changmin moaned when he felt Yunho’s hands travelling down his back tracing the goosebumps on his bare skin. Changmin sucked on Yunho’s neck, feeling the heat build up on him. Teasing the skin, not quite breaking in.

Yunho seemed to be inpatient as his hands traveled to Changmin’s thighs and he pushed them open wide. He then grabbed Changmin by his ass and pushed him flush against him. Changmin absolutely hates the fact that he didn’t have much access to the Alpha’s bare skin. He stuck his hand down Yunho’s shirt and dragged his nails against his strong, muscular back. Yunho grabbed his waist in response and grinded against him. Changmin smirked, he loved it when the Alpha lost his composure.

Changmin’s canines came out as he bit into Yunho’s neck, breaking the skin. Shivers coursed through the Omega’s body, he held on to Yunho, tight; his legs crossed tightly against Yunho’s back. Yunho was also feeling it, if the way he gripped Changmin’s waist was any indication. Changmin was pretty sure that he was going to get some marks in there.

After a while, Changmin pulled back and licked at the puncture wound, trying to speed up the healing. Yunho moaned as Changmin’s cool tongue caressed his hot skin. Changmin was surprised when Yunho literally tackled him flat on the bed. He looked at Yunho and could see his eyes turning red. Changmin’s heart beat ratcheted, the whole display was turning him on.

Yunho tugged on Changmin’s hair hard, exposing his neck. Changmin moaned loud, he had always liked it a bit hard. Yunho wasted no time biting into his neck. Changmin pressed up against Yunho in response, he could feel Yunho getting hard down there. Changmin wanted to touch too bad, he slipped his hand inside Yunho’s boxers and squeezed his engorged cock. That seemed to flip a switch in Yunho as he pulled himself back. He could see Changmin’s eyes had changed into golden. The omega in him had taken over. Yunho wanted it as bad as Changmin but not like this. Not when they were too high from the effects of the mating bite.

Yunho slowly pulled Changmin’s hands out of his boxer; hardest thing he has ever had to do in his life! And rolled out of the bed. Changmin’s eyes were still golden, he seemed confused by the turn of events.

“Sorry”, Yunho apologized and walked out of the room. Changmin couldn’t help but feel like he was rejected as some level. He curled up on himself and waited for his heartbeat to slow down. Before he knew, the day caught up with him and he drifted off to sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

The next time Changmin opened his eyes, he was faced with Yunho, deep in his sleep. Changmin took some time to realize where he was. Memories from last night, came rushing to him. He felt embarrassed. He had literally accosted the Alpha, desperate for his knot. Thankfully, Yunho had stopped before he could have embarrassed himself any further.

 

Changmin glanced at Yunho. God, he could still remember the feel the Alpha’s weight on him, pushing down on him. Fuck, the Alpha was so attractive!

 

Changmin slid a little closer and took his time to really look at Yunho. He looked so soft and peaceful in sleep. Changmin brought his finger in touching distance of Yunho’s face and traced the Alpha’s perfect nose and sharp jawline. He stopped at the Alpha’s full lips, he has felt it against him for a few times now. He did want to experience that more often. Changmin slowly brought his lips closer to the Alpha’s. But at the last moment, he hesitated.

 

Did Yunho really want him? Yunho’s brush off from last night came rushing into Changmin’s memory and he immediately pulled back.

 

It's not like Changmin doubted the Alpha’s attraction towards him. Yunho had reciprocated fervently both the times they had made out. But both the times, Changmin was the one who had initiated. Yunho definitely wasn't the kind of person who was shy in bed. In fact once he got going, Yunho was pretty aggressive. So he knew Yunho was holding back. He didn't actively seek sexual pleasure from Changmin. Maybe because he was stuck on someone else?

 

_Hojun_

 

Well, Changmin didn't really care if Yunho was pining away after someone else. If he wanted to go ahead and live like a hermit, he very well could. Changmin wasn't dying for his knot!

 

* * *

 

Yunho was having breakfast while browsing the newspaper. It was strange for him to have his breakfast at home. Usually, he just went directly to work and got something from the cafeteria to sustain himself, most of the time he would forget and skip it.

 

But since Changmin moved in, he had been consequently eating his breakfast at home. And a full one at that not just ice-choco. Changmin was an early riser mostly because he claimed he gets hungry too soon and has to eat. At first, Yunho would just ask him for a little taste of whatever Changmin was making but would end up eating half of the whole portion. Obviously, the Omega’s wrath would come down on him but Yunho has been starting to enjoy that too. Maybe he was a masochist, after all!

 

Anyway, he kept eating or ‘stealing’ as Changmin would insist. But the Omega caught on after a few days and started doubling the portion. So, somehow his Changminnie has ended up cooking his breakfast for him.

 

It's not like Yunho was completely useless in the kitchen. But the Omega had too high of a standard in the kitchen. Like today itself, Changmin had asked him to put some bread in the toaster for himself. They came out a little burnt, which was fine by Yunho’s standards and he even insisted that he liked his toast a little burnt like this.

 

But Changmin would have none of it. He tossed those toasts in the trash telling him that he didn't want Yunho to end up dying anytime soon. And proceeded to make toasts himself for Yunho. As of today, Yunho has been effectively banned from using the toaster. One of many bans he had received over the meagre period of 3 weeks that they have been married for. Bans from using the oven, Changmin’s coffee machine and knife without supervision, were some of them. Changmin had warned that he was very close to being banned from the kitchen itself, when Yunho had tried to make eggs for himself and mistakenly spilt the yolk all over the counter while he was breaking the shell. Yunho had worried that Changmin would end up getting a aneurysm if the way the Omega had completely lost it, was any indication.

 

Out of the corner big his eyes, he could see Changmin wiping the end table. The Omega couldn't go even a minute without cleaning or wiping something. Yunho shook his head at the sight.

 

“What are you doing”, Yunho asked.

 

“Cleaning the mess”, replied Changmin not even bothering to glance at Yunho.

 

“You do realise that we have a house-help who comes around on Friday and cleans up everything, right”, asked Yunho with a sigh.

 

“You were planning to let this mug sit here till Friday”, asked Changmin in return lifting a coffee mug that had probably been sitting there since yesterday.

 

“I have other mugs”, Yunho replied with a shrug. It wasn't a big deal, Yunho always got too absorbed in his work and forgot to pick up after himself. That was the biggest reason why he had employed a house-help.

 

“So what? How hard is it to wash one mug or atleast put it in the sink”, nagged Changmin.

 

“Ahh... I tend to forget”, said Yunho sheepishly. He would be the first one to admit, he was pretty sloppy. He just couldn't bring himself to care about it.

 

Changmin looked at the files half opened and scattered on the end table. He let out a frustrated whine.

 

“And you have an office, why are all your files scattered everywhere”, chided Changmin rearranging the file properly.

 

“I hate being holed up in one room so I keep moving around while working”, Yunho argued biting into his perfectly crisp toast.

 

After a moment, Yunho heard a thud noise of something being placed a little too hard on the dining table. Changmin stood looking absolutely pissed! Yunho knew that shit was about to go down.

 

“Alright, I have to say this”, asked Changmin flicking his hair away from his eyes. Yunho was a little thankful that Changmin hadn't gone through with chopping off his long bangs. It was so fucking hot everytime Changmin flicked his hair even when he was pissed.

 

“Would it kill you to pick up after yourself, even a little bit”, asked Changmin frustrated.

 

“I do pick up after myself. Some days I am busy so I don’t get to it”, defended Yunho.

 

“So, you leave the wet towel on the bed only on the days that you are busy”, countered Changmin.

 

Alright, Changmin got him there. It was one of his bad habits that was hard to break out of.

 

“I drop it on my side of the bed, anyway”, argued Yunho taking a sip of his orange juice

 

“That is so not the point”, shot back Changmin.

 

“Why does it bother you so much”, argued Yunho.

 

“It bothers me that a grown-ass man lives like a teenager”, responded Changmin getting agitated.

 

“Fine, once I come back from work today. I will put everything away”, said Yunho rising from his chair, it was time for him to head out to work.

 

“You said that yesterday, too”, countered Changmin following Yunho to the door.

 

“To be fair, I came back and kept working”, argued Yunho, collecting his briefcase.

 

Changmin opened his mouth to argue some more but Yunho cut in.

“I am getting late for work”, he said grabbing the car keys.

 

“Convenient”, muttered Changmin at Yunho’s blatant attempt at bailing out. Yunho didn’t want to leave Changmin with a frown on his beautiful face. So, he swiftly swept in and planted a quick peck on Changmin’s lips. When Yunho pulled back he saw the Omega’s eyes widened in shock.

 

Changmin’s shocked expression was quite spectacular. Yunho could stop himself from chuckling at it.

 

“See you later, Changdol”, Yunho called out as he exited the door. As soon as the door was shut, Changmin snapped out of his stupor. Fucking, Yunho! He thinks he is so smooth. Like this cheesy-ass flirting was going to work on him!

 

Changmin turned and his gaze fell on the dining table. Yunho had left the dishes on the table. Fuck, how did he always manage to get away!  

 

* * *

 

Yunho walked up to the desk of one of the Project Managers he worked closely with.

 

“Do you have the ‘Yuko Corp’ file with you? I can’t seem to find it. We have a meeting with them, tomorrow”, Yunho said urgently.

 

“I believe you took it with you, back home, Sir. You said you wanted to read through it some more”, the manager replied promptly.

 

“Did I ? I thought I had handed it over to you for revisions”, asked Yunho doubtfully. He didn’t remember going through the file yesterday night when he was working at home.

 

“I had finished it and handed it over to you, Sir. For a final review”, the manager insisted.

 

“Hmm... Alright, thanks”, Yunho said and walked back towards his office. He looked at his watch it was 2:00pm already. He needed to go home and get that file. There was still some work to be done on it so this couldn’t wait until later.

 

* * *

 

Changmin sighed as he opened the door to his home. He had a long meeting with the publishers and Taemin regarding the next book on the ‘Moonchild’ series. The publisher wanted to push the release date up, greedy to make profits as soon as possible for the quarter. Changmin was firm on not hurrying the release because he didn’t want to compromise with the quality of the work. But then they started offering Changmin an even bigger cut of the profit and also threw in the fact that they had delayed the release to accommodate Changmin’s marriage. A while ago, Changmin would have been forced to take the deal. But thankfully, money wasn’t a problem anymore so he was back to dictating his own terms at his workplace once again. It was such a relief. As Changmin was putting away his bag, he heard noises coming from Yunho’s office.

 

It was strange for Yunho to return that early from his office. He glanced at the shoe-stand and he definitely did not see Yunho’s shoes in there. A little worried, Changmin slowly walked inched towards Yunho’s office. Thankfully, it was the Alpha in there, furiously going through the shelves full of documents. The whole room was in a state of complete disarray, files scattered everywhere. This angered Changmin so much, he had spent the better part of his morning, organizing everything in this room.

 

“What are you doing”, asked Changmin folding his arms in anger.

 

“Looking for a file”, replied Yunho not even bothering to look back at him. Changmin walked to Yunho and the first thing he noticed that Yunho was wearing his shoes.

 

“At least take off your shoes when you come in”, chided Changmin. Yunho simply ignored him and continued flicking through the pages of files and then dumping them unceremoniously on his desk.

 

After a while, Yunho clicked his tongue in frustration and asked, “Why are my files not here”

 

“The ones that were lying around the house”, asked Changmin. Yunho nodded impatiently.

 

“I put them back in your office. You are welcome, by the way”, Changmin replied with sass. Yunho walked past him and picked up another file.

 

“I just arranged stuff in here, could you be a little more respectful”, nagged Changmin at the careless way that Yunho was handling the files.

 

“I can’t find the file”, said Yunho, slapping his hand on the table frustrated. Changmin was a little thrown off by Yunho’s actions, he had never seen the Alpha that worked up.

 

“I put all of it in a pile, here”, Changmin pointed out helpfully. Yunho immediately started wading through the pile.

 

“It’s not there”, he said slamming the last file loudly.

 

“Then, I wouldn’t know where it went”, replied Changmin crossing his arms, defensively.

 

“You shouldn’t have moved anything”, said Yunho, very annoyed.

 

“Moved ? You mean pick up after you. At least they are all here in the office now. You wouldn’t have found a single file the way everything was scattered all around the house. I mean I found some in the gym-room, what the heck”, shot back Changmin, anger rising in him.

 

“There was an order to it. Sure, I don’t keep it all in one place but I remember all the places I leave my files on”, argued Yunho fervently.

 

“Sure”, said Changmin sarcastically. That seemed to tick the Alpha off.

 

“Do you think I didn’t manage to function before you came into my life”, asked Yunho getting right into his face.

 

“I have my doubts”, shot back Changmin, not one of back off. Yunho closed his eyes to gather himself and backed away.

 

He turned toward Changmin and explained, “Work is serious to me. I have never lost any important document, ever”

 

“So, you think I misplaced your file? I did you a fucking favor by cleaning up your shit”,retorted Changmin, feeling offended.

 

“No, you weren’t doing me any favors. YOU have some kind of OCD”, argued Yunho raising his voice.

 

“Excuse you”, shot back Changmin, pissed.

 

“From day one, you have been trying to change things around here”, said Yunho. Changmin opened his mouth to argue but Yunho didn’t give him a chance.

 

“And, that’s fine. This is your home, too. But you have been absolutely intolerant of me”, accused Yunho.

 

“You have problems with me not squeezing the toothpaste from the bottom, getting crumbs on the sofa, brushing in the shower and even how low I put the thermostat on”, continued Yunho, shoulders bunched up in frustration

 

Changmin glared at him in response.

 

“And you know what, you can have your way in everything. But don’t mess with my work! I told you I would arrange them after I returned from work today but it’s just your way or the fucking highway”, said Yunho raising his voice once again.

Changmin was about to give Yunho a piece of his mind but Yunho thumped the desk with his hand surprising Changmin.

 

Yunho looked at Changmin lips pursed in frustration,  “And now your little stunt is going to cost me months of hard work”

 

Changmin was so angry, he knew thing would get ugly if he opened his mouth so he simply walked out of the room but not before banging the door on his way out.

 

Yunho’s phone started ringing. Yunho pulled out his phone and that it was the Project manager calling him.

 

“Yes”, answered Yunho.

 

“Sir, I found the original back at office”, the manager informed him.

 

“What“, asked Yunho. he was so angry, he couldn’t process the information at once.

 

“I am sorry, Sir. I thought I had handed you over the file after revisions but I forgot to. It was locked inside my desk drawer”, the manager said apologetically.

 

Yunho slapped his forehead in anger. What had he done! He was so fucking stupid, Changmin had all the right in the world to kick his ass.

 

“Sir”, the manager said as Yunho hadn’t spoken in a while.

 

Yunho tried to regain his composure and replied, “No, that’s fine. Just put it in on my desk, I will there in 20 minutes or so”

 

“Sure. I am so sorry”, the manager apologized desperately.

 

“Just make sure this doesn’t happen another time”, said Yunho before he hung up. He rushed out of his office, furiously searching for Changmin.

 

“Changmin-ah”, he called out. There was no response. He checked the kitchen, bed room, game room and the guest room, the Omega was nowhere to be found. He must have stepped out to cool himself down. Yunho glanced at his watch, there was still work to be done. He would have to try and make it up to Changmin later tonight.

 

Still, Yunho tried calling Changmin as he was stepping out of the house but as expected the Omega was ignoring him. Sending ‘sorry’ as a text was too inadequate, he would have wait until his work was done. As he got into the car, he was already planning what food he should pick up for Changmin and thinking of stopping by a flower shop to pick up some Carnations.

 

* * *

 

“What’s going on”, asked Yunho surprised as he entered his house with a bouquet and packed dinner for two, in his hands.

 

The living room was a mess. There were newspapers spread everywhere. Yunho hurriedly placed the food and the bouquet as he saw Changmin dumping some files in the sea of newspapers.

 

“Just returning things to their original places. I have been changing too many things around, right? Don’t worry, it will hardly take a minute to get this place back to its original state”, said Changmin, spite dripping off his tone.

 

Yunho had expected some retribution but this was quite unexpected. Damn, did the Omega know how to hold a grudge.

 

“Changdol”, Yunho tried to reach out to Changmin. Changmin walked past him and grabbed the bouquet on the table.

 

“This wasn’t here before”, he said and promptly dropped it in the trash. He then turned to look at Yunho, challenging him to say anything about it. Yunho wisely remained quiet.

 

Changmin then marched in the direction of Yunho’s office. Yunho immediately followed him, in case things got out of hand.

 

Changmin just knocked down a bunch of files from the shelf. It pained Yunho to see all the important documents being thrown across the room without a care but he held his tongue. He did deserve it after what he had pulled earlier.

 

Changmin seemed to be seething in anger by Yunho’s lack of reaction. He was itching to pick a fight, goad Yunho into losing it as well. He picked up a heavy file and aimed it directly at Yunho’s face. Yunho’s reflexively shielded himself from the blow using his forearms. The Alpha looked quite shocked and offended. Good, that’s exactly what Changmin wanted him to feel.

 

Changmin launched a barrage of files towards the Alpha. Yunho was able to dodge all of them but he got progressively angry with each throw. He quickly closed the gap between them and clutched Changmin’s wrists.

 

“Alright, stop”, he said shaking Changmin a bit hoping to get him to snap back into his senses.

 

“I haven’t even started, yet”, snapped back Changmin and smashed his lips into Yunho’s. He bit down hard on Yunho’s full lips. When Yunho gasped in pain, Changmin took the opportunity to slip his tongue in.

At this point, Yunho seemed to have recovered from the initial shock and met Changmin half way. Their tongues sliding over each other sensuously. Yunho’s hold on his wrists had weakened, Changmin immediately moved his hands to rip open Yunho’s shirt, desperate for skin. His buttons went flying as Changmin finally got a chance to drag his nails across Yunho’s lush chest.   

 

Yunho’s hand came up to grab Changmin’s hair and tilt his head backwards as he dominated the kiss. Yunho was stabbing his tongue into Changmin’s mouth as a preview of how he would fuck into him when they got down to it. Changmin scratched Yunho a bit too hard on his chest, he was pretty sure that a little blood was drawn on to the surface by it.

 

Somehow that seemed to have brought Yunho into his senses because he immediately broke their kiss and put some distance between them. He was panting and running his hand through his hair, all the while Changmin could clearly see the tent in his pants. This shit wasn’t happening again, they were going all the way, today.

 

Changmin closed the gap between them and grabbed Yunho’s cock through his pants. He looked at Yunho and goaded him with his eyes flashing gold.

 

“Is this just for show or does it work, Alpha”

 

He immediately saw Yunho’s eyes flash red in response. Yunho grabbed Changmin’s hair and pulled him in for a searing kiss. It was too animalistic and raw to be called a kiss. There was biting, sucking and a battle for dominance. Changmin unbuttoned Yunho’s pants and unzipped it. But before he could get his hands inside his boxers, Yunho grabbed them and put it around his shoulders. Changmin felt Yunho putting his arms around his thighs. And then in a jiffy he was hoisted around Yunho’s waist, the alpha’s hands digging into his ass.

 

Yunho managed to walk them to their bedroom even though they kept crashing into walls on their way. He tossed Changmin on the bed and then stepped out of his pants in a hurry. He ripped open whatever was remaining of his shirt. Changmin hurriedly got rid of his own clothes. By the time he was done, Yunho was standing in front of him in his naked glory, his cock at full mast. It was huge, Changmin had only seen something akin to that size only in porn. Changmin yearned to take it in his mouth.

 

Changmin didn’t get much time to admire the sight as Yunho climbed on the bed and immediately flipped Changmin to facedown.  Yunho made no delay in rubbing his middle finger across Changmin’s crack. Changmin bit back a moan. He had gotten a little wet but not enough for the Alpha to enter him, yet.

 

Changmin gasped as he felt Yunho’s thick finger breach his hole. Yunho then bent forward to bite Changmin’s earlobe. “I’ll get you wet”, he whispered.

 

“Properly”, he added as he tapped lightly on the Omega’s prostate. Changmin moaned softly at that.

 

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, probably have to end up using lube”, taunted Changmin, to knock the Alpha down a peg, all the while biting his lips to keep himself from moaning loudly at three of Yunho’s fingers fucking into him.

Suddenly, Changmin felt Yunho push his knees forward so that he would be in a prostrated position. Yunho then pulled his ass cheeks apart, his pink glistening hole on display for the Alpha. Changmin felt hot with embarrassment, he closed his eyes shut.

 

Changmin braced himself for the Alpha’s meaty fingers to enter him again. He almost jumped when he felt something foreign, warm and slick running across his hole. Yunho’s hands kept a strong hold on on his ass cheeks keeping them apart as Changmin felt that sensation once again. Fuck, Yunho was using his tongue.

 

Changmin had never been rimmed, his previous partners were far too embarrassed to try that with him and Changmin would never come forward and ask for it. So, he couldn’t control his loud moan when Yunho’s tongue penetrated him. He panted as he felt Yunho continuously fucking him with his tongue. Changmin could feel more slick pumping out of him, every time Yunho’s tongue breached him. He was feeling hot all over, his nipples hard, his cock red and swollen, he could feel he was close to squirting.

 

Suddenly, he felt Yunho pull back, Changmin felt a gush of slick trickling down. He then felt the Alpha close his lips around his rim and give a hard suck.  And that was it, Changmin squirted, his thighs quivering, heart ratcheting and his mouth open, panting like he had just finished running a marathon.

 

If Changmin thought that Yunho would bask in his glory he was wrong for Yunho wasted no time getting his cock inside the Omega’s puffy hole.

 

Even with the orgasm and the prep, Changmin was still too tight around him. Yunho had to bite his lips and concentrate too hard not to come. Yunho got too turned on when he was rimming the Omega. The noises Changmin had made almost made him pop a knot then and there. And God, it was glorious when Changmin had come! Changmin looked ethereal, his face twisted in pleasure, his lips all red and swollen, his body glowing with sweat.  

 

He looked at Changmin’s face, the Omega’s eyes seemed to be blown wide, his mouth formed an ‘o’ shape. He was was panting like he was trying to adjust to the intrusion.

“You alright”, Yunho asked caressing Changmin’s back.

Changmin immediately slapped his hands and said,

“It’s your fucking fault. You are too fucking big”

 

“You sure you have had anything down there before”, Yunho taunted back. Changmin bit his lips and squeezed Yunho’s cock tight as a retribution. Yunho clenched his jaw trying not to come immediately.

 

After Yunho got himself in control, he held Changmin by his waist and started jack-hammering into the Omega. Changmin could feel another orgasm building.

 

What the hell was Yunho doing to his body, he shouldn’t be shooting like a teenager! He would be damned if he came twice before Yunho even popped his knot. So, Changmin reached forward and squeezed the base of his cock to stave off his orgasm. Yunho smirked with amusement, he took it was a personal challenge to make the Omega lose control. Yunho moved his hips to keep nailing Changmin’s prostate.

 

Changmin was panting hard, his stomach muscles were quivering. He clenched his fist and toes trying to hold on.

 

“Let go”, said Yunho in between his pants.

“Shut up”, shot back Changmin his voice breaking.

 

Time to turn up the heat, Yunho pushed in once again hitting Changmin’s prostate. But this time, he stayed and rotated his hips to keep the pressure on his prostate. It was a losing battle, Changmin couldn’t fight it anymore as he came long and hard. It was too taxing on Changmin as he struggled to stay upright. Yunho caught him and pulled him back on to him.

 

Changmin moaned as Yunho continued fucking him. He was too sensitive and tired. Yunho was reaching his limit, his knot started swelling.

 

Changmin grunted at Yunho’s expanding girth. He didn’t think it would fit, he reached out and squeezed Yunho’s arms tight trying to convey that. Yunho reciprocated by placing soothing kisses on Changmin’s neck. Changmin moaned softly as Yunho licked at his mating bite.

 

Yunho then rearranged them so that they could lie on their sides. Changmin felt Yunho’s come flooding his insides, the knot swelled up to keep it all plugged in. It was a strange feeling for Changmin, he had never been with an Alpha before. It was somehow turning on Changmin as he felt his cock hardening once again. God, he could not go for one more.   

 

Yunho was panting hard, his long drawn-out orgasm was making him lose his mind. He knew he had been coming more than usual. It was not only the fact that it had been a while since he had sex, his Alpha side was trying to make sure that he bred his Omega full. Yunho’s attention went to Changmin’s belly which was getting a bit distended by the sheer amount of come that Yunho was pumping into him.

“It’s too much, I can’t...ahhh”, he heard Changmin whine.

The pressure from Yunho’s knot on his prostate was getting him close to another orgasm, he clenched his toes trying not to prevent it.

 

“It will come down soon”, soothed Yunho rubbing Changmin’s arms. He decided to move a bit as his arm was getting numb but his movement pulled on the tightly plugged knot. Changmin whined throwing his head back on Yunho’s shoulder as he came once again. However, this time it wasn’t as drawn out was the last one. However, it took last of Changmin’s remaining strength as he his eyelids became heavier.

 

“Fuck, that’s hot” were the last words he heard before his sleep took over him.

 

* * *

 

Changmin woke up in the bed, alone. He glanced at the clock on the side table. It read 5:58 am, Yunho doesn’t leave for office until 07:30 am. He should be here.

 

Changmin gingerly sat up on the bed, he immediately felt a twinge of pain from his ass. It reminded if of last night. Fuck, they had both lost their minds! He was still naked but was dry.  He removed the sheet he was covered with to examine his inner thighs. Seemed like Yunho had cleaned him up. He decided to take a hot shower before even trying to mull over everything that had gone down yesterday.

 

As he stood under the hot shower, he felt his sore muscles relaxing. His thoughts started to wander over to his fight with Yunho yesterday. In the grand scheme of things, the whole thing seemed so trivial. Still, he would be lying if he said that the way Yunho reacted, didn’t hurt him.

 

Yes, Yunho was completely out of line taking his frustration out on him but he could have also handled it in a mature way. He ignored Yunho’s calls and then threw away the bouquet that he had brought with him. Instead, he goaded Yunho into angry sex. That wasn’t how a married couple should be resolving their issues. They weren’t fucking angsty teenagers!

 

Changmin’s hands strayed to his hole to clean it. As soon he put his finger in just a bit, his hole clenched against the phantom sensation of Yunho’s cock breaching him. He couldn’t stop a moan from coming out. He was deliciously sore there from the previous night. He bit his lips as he fingered himself to completion under the shower.

 

* * *

 

 

As Changmin stepped out of the bedroom to put the bed sheets in the washing machine, he noticed that the drawing room had been cleaned. None of the mess from last night was there. The newspapers were not so neatly folded but put away in a pile. None of Yunho’s files were there.

 

Yunho, thought Changmin.

 

* * *

 

“What are you doing”, asked Changmin leaning against the door of Yunho’s office room where he found Yunho sitting on the carpet rearranging files that were scattered around.

 

Yunho turned to look at him and sheepishly replied, “Cleaning up my mess”

 

“I will help you”, said Changmin walking towards Yunho with a very slight limp.

 

“No, I’ve got it”, said Yunho gesturing Changmin to stay where he was.

But Changmin just sat down the carpet beside Yunho. Yunho hands immediately came to support Changmin as soon as he saw him trying to sit down. Yunho desperately wanted to ask Changmin if he was doing ok after last night but he didn’t know how the Omega would react to their night together so he kept his mouth shut.

 

Changmin started rearranging the files, quietly. Yunho looked at him and thought to himself that he must have saved a country in his previous life to end up with a person like Changmin.

 

“Changdol”, he called out to get the Omega’s attention. Changmin turned to look at him.

 

“I am sorry”, said Yunho earnestly.

 

Changmin felt a bit worried, he really hoped that Yunho wasn’t apologizing for the sex. Because it was wholly consensual and Yunho seemed to be enjoying it as well. He thought he had broken through reluctance to initiate any intimacy with him, if he regretted it, it would be like going two steps back.

 

“I took my frustration out on you. I know you were only trying to help and I was just being an ass”, said Yunho, looking quite disappointed in himself.

 

Changmin let out a breath that he didn’t know that he was holding.

 

“I am sorry too, I took things a bit too far”, replied Changmin sheepishly.

 

“I deserved it”, said Yunho with a rueful chuckle. Yunho was wearing a tank top, Changmin could clearly see the mark on his chest. Thankfully, it looked more like a scratch due to their accelerated healing. Yeah, he had definitely gone too far.

 

Yunho broke the silence that had descended between them.

 

“I got us some good food last night. We never got around to uhh..”, trailed off Yunho, trying to sidestep the elephant in the room.

 

“I can heat it up”, Yunho offered. It was a peace offering, Changmin recognized it for what it was.

 

“Let me take the after pill and then I will eat it. I do hope I still have some”, said Changmin getting up. Yunho immediately helped him up.

 

“You shouldn’t worry about that”, said Yunho. Changmin was confused by Yunho’s words.

 

“But you ...”, Changmin trailed off as couldn’t come up for nicer words for Yunho breeding him full and proper.

 

Yunho realized his confusion and pulled up a file from his desk drawer. He handed it to Changmin. Changmin was thoroughly puzzled but flipped through the file. It seemed to be Yunho’s medical record.

 

“I probably should have told you earlier. I went through a procedure some years ago to have a contraceptive planted. It is quite effective and easily reversible. I thought of taking it out once I got married but since you and I...”, Yunho trailed not wanting to rehash the whole ‘not-having-kids’ conversation.

 

Changmin was dumbfounded. He read through the file to ascertain what he had heard. It was in fact true, the whole information blew Changmin’s mind away.

 

“You look surprised”, asked Yunho when Changmin didn’t say anything for a while.

 

“Sorry, it’s just I know that there are procedures out there for Alphas. But you know how most Alphas take this a slight upon their manhood. It’s rare to see an Alpha seek it by himself”, said Changmin honestly.

 

“Back when I was in college, my then boyfriend was an Omega. He once had to go through his heat alone because he was busy and had missed his blockers dose. After pills weren’t an option for him because they didn’t go along with another medication he was on, then. And I could do nothing. So, I decided I would get this procedure done so none of my partners would ever have to worry about it. I would have taken it out once me and my partner had decided on having kids”, explained Yunho, nostalgia engulfing him.

 

Changmin observed Yunho while he was talking and he just knew, the boyfriend had to be Hojun. Still, the whole decision was such a big-hearted and mature one.

 

“You are strange”, remarked Changmin, not finding the correct word to describe how proud he felt of Yunho.

 

“But in a good way, right”, Yunho asked with a smile.

 

Changmin shook his head and said earnestly, “In the best way”

 

Suddenly, Yunho caught hold of Changmin’s left hand and asked looking at his ring finger, “Your ring”

 

“Ohh... it’s too loose. I don’t want it fall down somewhere so I just put it away until I can get it resized”, Changmin waved it off.

 

Yunho quietly let go of his hand in response and headed towards the door. That did not sit well with Changmin.

 

“You don’t mind, do you”, asked Changmin.

 

“Of course, not”, Yunho’s reply came a bit too fast.

 

Changmin wasn’t convinced at all.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, at least in this AU Changmin decides not to chop off his beautiful long bangs


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who are still reading this fic and leaving comments and hitting that 'Kudos' button! They always cheer me up. So now back to our scheduled programme....

Yunho walked towards the door. He was home, finally. He had rushed to finish up his work so he could make it home at a decent time. Well, almost. 9 pm was a decent time in his books.

 

Changmin has been extremely busy for the last three days, now. He was been cooped up in his office furiously typing and mumbling to himself. There was a lot of sighing. Yesterday, Taemin had come in and he was still there this morning when Yunho was leaving for office. Wow, Yunho had no idea that so much effort went into writing porn! Well, adult novels. Anyway, he has a newfound respect for writers of that genre, he had been unfairly writing them off.

 

However in all of this, Yunho hadn’t even been able to see Changmin’s face properly for these 3 days.

 

Yes, they lived together and it’s not like they are romantically involved with each other or anything. But, he had gotten so used to having Changmin all to himself that this sudden separation doesn’t sit well with him. So, he had decided to come home and take Changmin out for some hot pot and drinks. He knew the Omega’s face would light up, Yunho dearly wished to see that.

 

Yunho unlocked the door and entered his home. He went to the kitchen to fetch a glass of water. He froze by the kitchen door as he saw Kim Jongin setting up food on plates in his damn kitchen. What the heck!

 

Yunho cleared his throat loudly to get Jongin’s attention. Jongin jumped a bit but he soon recovered as he noticed Yunho

 

He walked to Yunho in a hurry and greeted, “Ahh... Yunho-ssi. I don't know if you remember, I am..”

Yunho cut in immediately, “Kim Jongin, I remember. You can call me hyung”

“Ye, Hyung-nim”, responded Jongin with a polite bow.

“I was just bringing dinner to Taemin and Changminnie hyung”, Jongin said gesturing towards the plates.

Yunho raised his eyebrow at the ‘Changminnie’.

Who the hell was this guy, calling his husband nicknames and bringing him food ?

“I meant to ask, how do you know Changmin”, asked Yunho trying to keep the menace out of his voice.

“He works for us. He is the star author”, replied Jongin with a smile, taking pride in Changmin’s achievements.

Wait, Yunho was pretty sure that Changmin’s adult book series was published by a Japanese company. Jongin’s company was a different one. Something was fishy.

“Do you personally deliver food to all your star authors ? I mean that's very kind of you ”, said Yunho in an intimidating tone.

“Ahh no. It's just because it's hyung. He has cooked for me and Taemin numerous times so it's only normal for me to bring food for them”, said Jongin, visibly flabbergasted.

Changmin had apparently cooked for him, numerous times that to. Yunho didn’t know what to do with that information.

“Jongin-ah, I am dying of hunger”

Yunho turned in the direction of Changmin’s unmistakable whiny tone. It sounded a bit raspy like he was tired. Changmin appeared beside him, looking disheveled. His hair tousled, as if he had been pulling on it or run his hands over it far too many times. Hints of facial hair and most of the color drained out from his face. His beautiful eyes were bespectacled and swollen due to sleep deprivation. Yunho just wanted to tuck him into bed and force him to get some shut-eyes.

To think Changmin was pushing himself so much to write porn was baffling to Yunho.

“Yunho”, Changmin said frowning a bit. He glanced at the oven clock.

“9 pm, quite early for you”, he remarked confused.

“Have you slept at all”, asked Yunho, worried for the Omega.

“I will, tomorrow. Once everything is done”, Changmin waved him off.

“Did you get some caffeine shots”, Changmin turned to ask Jongin.

“Yeah. But you should eat something first”, insisted Jongin.

Yunho didn’t know why but he was progressively losing his cool watching Changmin and Jongin talk between themselves when he was standing there.

“Yunho, have you had dinner, yet? You could join us”, asked Changmin turning to Yunho. Yunho just realized he had been unconsciously gritting his teeth.

“No, I am going out anyway”, Yunho replied as he left both of them to whatever they were up to. Clearly, Yunho wasn’t needed here.

“Did something happen”, Changmin voiced his concern at Yunho’s sudden exit. Jongin just shrugged in confusion.

 

* * *

 

“Thought you had embraced sainthood”, remarked Heechul as he joined Yunho and Donghae at the bowling alley.

“Just been busy”, said Yunho focusing on the bowling. It was a strike! Yunho pumped his fist in the air. Typical!

“Yeah, understandable. So, when are you giving us the good news”, pressed on Heechul, knowing that Yunho was trying to avoid the topic

“What”, Yunho turned to him, confused.

“Considering the amount of time you have spent being _busy_ , we are expecting some announcement pretty soon”, Heechul wiggled his eyebrows when he said ‘busy'.

“There is nothing like that”, said Yunho failing to hide his blush.

“Oh really? You guys haven't done the deed, yet”, Heechul said sarcastically. Yunho kept his mouth shut.

“Stop pretending that you are a monk or something. We both literally caught you going at it like horny teens”, remarked Donghae before he bowled.

“Are you done, yet? Or there's more ragging to be done”, said Yunho a bit miffed.

“Fine, I'll stop if you tell me the real reason you decided to meet up. You seem to be attached to your Changminnie, nowadays”, said Heechul, getting to the point.

Yunho unwittingly clenched his jaw before he replied, “He's busy”

“Wow could you be any less sulky about it”, Heechul remarked at Yunho’s terse response.

“Oh yeah, he told me he had a deadline coming up so he would be busy for a few days”, added Donghae casually. Both Yunho and Heechul turned to look at him surprised. Donghae had no idea why.

“Who ? Changmin? How did he suddenly start talking to you of all, people”, Heechul demanded to know.

“We jog together, sometimes. He usually starts when I am close to completing my laps. We run a lap or two together”, answered Donghae nonchalantly.

“He jogs”, asked Yunho surprised.

“Yes, but at sane times like 8 am. Not like you, running around at freaking 3 am”, added Donghae. Yunho was still bamboozled by the fact that Changmin had apparently made friends with Donghae while he was completely unaware of it.

“It's hard to keep up with your husband, though. Freaking long legs, he covers so much ground in one stride, I have to sprint to keep up”, said Donghae conversationally while picking his next ball.

 

The sentence seemed to prick Yunho. Even Donghae managed to know something about Changmin that Yunho hadn’t found out in the 4 months that he had known Changmin. Out of the 4 months, he has already spent 2 months being married to the guy. Yet he felt that he knew nothing about his husband except for his obsession with cleaning and neatness.

 

But truthfully, Yunho couldn’t blame anyone for it. If anything, his own emotions were misplaced because this marriage wasn’t supposed to involve any expectations. Changmin wasn’t supposed to be more than someone who shared space with him. Yet somehow, every time someone claimed to know Changmin better than him, it rubbed him the wrong way.

 

It was entirely his fault for not keeping his distance from the Omega. Some emotions seemed to have seeped through because he had become somewhat dependent on Changmin. Changmin organized his closet, did his laundry and even folded them. Not to mention, he has been eating at home, more and more because of Changmin’s cooking. And, Heechul was right too, this was the first time he has had a night out with them. Usually in whatever free time he had, he would either build legos with Changmin or watch some drama or movie together with him. He needed to put some distance between them.

 

“Yunho, you getting the drinks or what”, Heechul’s bored voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah. But hand me your cards, let's play our usual game to see who would pay”, said Yunho.

 

When the three of them went out together, they usually played the game where they pulled out each of their credit cards and asked the person at the counter to choose one. However was the unlucky winner, would have to pay for everyone.

 

“Fuck off, you are loaded. Why should I pay”, protested Heechul.

“You aren't really below the line of poverty yourself. Stop whining, I am doing this too and I earn the least out of all of you”, countered Donghae pulling out his own card.

 

Heechul sighed his response but pulled out his own card, unwillingly. Only Yunho just snatched Heechul’s card and made a run for the counter.

 

“Waaaah...... you are becoming mean just like your husband”, shouted Heechul outrage, feeling severely wronged.

“Thanks for the drinks, Hyung”, shouted back Yunho with a smug smile on his face. Donghae banged the table laughing at the whole exchange.

“Stop laughing, you backstabbing idiot”, scolded Heechul.

“Woah, backstabbing”, asked Donghae confused.

“Consorting with the enemy is generally considered as backstabbing”, explained Heechul

“Enemy? Changminnie is Yunho’s husband”, said Donghae.

“Changminnie? Really?”, Heechul raised his brow at the nickname.

“I think you are writing him off too fast, he is a nice kid”, defended Donghae.

Heechul scoffed in response and said, “Oh please, we both know he doesn't give a shit about Yunho”

“How can you _know_ that”, asked Donghae using air quotes for ‘know’. Heechul hated when Donghae did that.

“You think he would have even acknowledged Yunho’s existence had he not been shelling out that amount of cash”, countered Heechul.

“But it's not like he is using the money for himself, right? His father made some bad business decisions, it's not his fault”, argued Donghae.

“Why are you defending him? Has he been feeding you his sob story or something”, asked Heechul a little miffed at Donghae making some good points. Damn, he hated losing arguments and that to someone like Donghae, who was a goofball 90% of the time.

“He has never talked about himself. If anything, he asks about Yunho’s insomnia” replied Donghae.

“Please don't tell me that you blabbered everything to him”, asked Heechul worried.

“And what if I did? He is Yunho’s husband, he seems worried. Yunho refuses to acknowledge his issues so what's he gotta do”, argued Donghae.

“Not go about digging up dirt against him”, exclaimed Heechul.

“Digging up dirt”, repeated Donghae, stunned by Heechul’s accusation.

“Well, you don't know what he is going to do with that information. Did you forget that they have a legal contract between them that he can take advantage of”, Heechul went off.

“Why you gotta twist it like that”, whined Donghae.

“Because I am the only sane person, here. You and Yunho always tend to take people on face value”, stated Heechul with a huff.

“I think you are going overboard. If anything Changmin reminds me a lot of Hojun hyung”, argued Donghae feverently.

“Hojun doesn't deserve this kind of slander. He genuinely loved and cared about Yunho when he was nothing. Changmin on the other hand is just here to have a good time with the riches that Yunho has amassed for himself”, retorted Heechul.

 

A loud ‘clink’ startled both of them as they noticed that Yunho was now back and was pissed if the way he banged the bottles on the table was any indication.

Donghae wanted to kick himself for mentioning Hojun. Yunho was sure to rip him a new one.

 

“I can't stop you from having your own opinions about Changmin. But can we stop pretending like I am a victim in all this. Yes, I paid a lot of money but I have also earned the royal status regardless of whether the marriage sticks or not”, said Yunho before he turned to bowl a ball, which unfortunately went into the gutter, enraging Yunho even further

 

Heechul was quite surprised that Yunho was more pressed about them discussing about Changmin than the fact that they had mentioned Hojun. Donghae threw Heechul a surprised look as well. Interesting turn of events, Heechul observed.

 

* * *

 

Taemin woke him from his sleep. He just sat there blank for a few seconds. All he remembered that he was at the printers to get Changmin’s work printed. Everything else seemed hazy. Atleast, he was in his apartment. Jongin must have brought him back, he has always been quite reliable like that.

Taemin woke up and walked to the living room where he found Jongin sitting in pajamas and squinting hard at his laptop screen. Strange, was Jongin working before going the office ?

 

“What time is it”, asked Taemin yawning.

“10 am”, replied Jongin still squinting hard at his screen.

“WHAT!!! Why didn't you wake me up, earlier”, exclaimed Taemin in panic. He was supposed to be in the office an hour ago.

“I called on your behalf and let them know you won't be coming in today. Because, you were working for 2 whole nights that you can cash in”, waved off Jongin, not even bothering to look away from his screen.

“You talked to my manager”, exclaimed Taemin.

“Who else would I talk to”, replied Jongin with a scoff.

“You had no right to do that”, said Taemin, angered.

 

Jongin stopped whatever he was doing and looked at Taemin who was fuming.

 

“I was just trying to help”, he said trying to explain himself.

“Do you know how it sounds when the Director’s son calls in and asks for a day off for an employee. It's not asking anymore, it's ordering”, shot back Taemin.

“And...”, Jongin prompted Taemin to expand further, he wasn’t quite sure what had ticked off Taemin off so bad.

“It's not like I don't hear enough from people about being a gold digger, now you have to go ahead and prove them right”, fired off Taemin.

“Yah, it's just a phone call”, exclaimed Jongin, he really thought that the whole argument was ridiculous. All this over one phone-call ?

“More reason for Hwe Jang nim to throw me out”, muttered Taemin before he turned away.

“What did you say”, asked Jongin. Taemin said nothing and walked over to kitchen instead.

“Did Dad talk to you”, asked Jongin following Taemin. Taemin just ignored him.

“Fine, I will ask him”, said Jongin with a shrug.

“Stay out of it. It's between me and my employer”, warned Taemin.

“It's because of me isn't it”, asked Jongin.

“He is not wrong. I have everything to gain from this relationship. You have everything to lose. What parent in their sane mind would be fine with it”, argued Taemin.

“I can understand him having a problem with us but letting it bleed into professional life is crossing a line”, said Jongin crossing his arms.

“So what, you are going to fight him on this”, asked Taemin.

“Yes”, replied Jongin feverently,

 

“That is the opposite of what I want. I have already soured things between you enough”, coaxed Taemin.

“None of that is your fault”, shot back Jongin.

“Isn't it”, retorted Taemin with a self deprecating scoff.

“Of course, not! I chose to fall in love with you, if anyone should be facing consequences that should be me”, said Jongin before he turned to presumably call his father. Taemin was tired of everything so he gave up and went back to sleep.

 

* * *

 

“It’s kind of late for you to go out for a jog”, Changmin remarked as Yunho stepped in through the door, in gym clothes, sweating profusely.

Yunho wanted to kick Donghae’s ass. Yunho had forced himself to go out to jog at 8 am in the weekend, so he could jog together with Changmin. He jogged and jogged and jogged.... but Changmin never showed up. If Donghae really had pulled a fast one on him, Yunho was going to thump him.

“Just felt like doing it in a time when the sun’s out. What about you”, asked Yunho, casually hoping to find out when Changmin went out to jog.

“Me ? I go out to jog much later on the weekends ‘coz I tend to wake up late”, replied Changmin with a shrug.

“Ohhh” said Yunho trying not to grimace. This is freaking Donghae’s fault, he should have mentioned that the morning jog was a weekday-only thing.

“Breakfast”, said Changmin placing a plate with french omelette, potatoes and toast. He had placed an small bowl with fruits as well. Though, Yunho had eaten already at a food stall, he wanted to dive in and clear the plate. But, he had to stop. That was the first phase of his ‘Stop getting attached to Changmin’ plan. He was trying not to depend on him anymore. The last week he left to office early so Changmin didn’t even get a chance to make him breakfast. He wasn’t going to go weak now.

“I already stopped by a food stall while I was returning”, said Yunho regretfully.

“Oh”, said Changmin, frowning a bit. Yunho wanted to just sit down and finish of the whole thing just to wipe away that frown.

Changmin recovered soon though and said, “More for me, then”

Yunho decided to hop in the shower and wash away the sweat and dirt. Once he was done, he whistled as he came out a towel wrapped around his waist. It was a habit he was trying to develop after marriage. Once he had walked in all nude from his shower while Changmin was still in the room and the Omega was quite flustered. Yunho found it a bit hard to understand, they had already seen each other naked, done much worse. Besides, it’s not like Changmin was sheltered or something, he wrote very explicit books. Whatever, it was hard to understand why Changmin was shy about certain things like receiving a compliment, casual pecks between them and full frontal nudity.

Yunho went through his clean pile of clothes but couldn’t seem to find an underwear. He probably ran out of clean underwear. Yunho sighed at the huge pile of his dirty laundry. Since their marriage, Changmin had taken over the laundry duties mostly because he couldn’t stand the dirty pile of laundry growing huge. Recently, Yunho had asked him to stop because that was another thing he wanted to stop depending on Changmin for. And well, as expected, he had forgotten so now he had had no underwear.

Well, he would have to go commando. Would be nice to free it up a bit. He went mostly commando before his marriage, anyway. Yunho just pulled on some shorts and a tank. Fuck laundry, Yunho would do it later.

Yunho stretched out comfortably on the couch and riffled through a manga he had been planning to catch up on.

“Your laundry bag is still here”, Yunho heard. Changmin’s nagging had no end to it.

“I will do it, later”, said Yunho not looking away from the manga

“We are supposed to spend tonight at the palace”, reminded Changmin.

“Fuck”, Yunho said as he shot up to sit straight on the couch. They had the coronation ceremony tomorrow. It was to be held at the palace that belonged to Changmin’s forefathers. Though the palace had been rented out and now served as a five star hotel where people could go and experience the culture and see for themselves how the life of royal looked like in the olden days. Since, the place was quite some distance from Seoul, they had to travel there, stay overnight and come back tomorrow after they were done with the ceremony.

Fuck, he needed clean underwear! He went to fetch his dirty laundry. He then went through the arduous and boring task of chucking all of it into the washer.

“You are not going to separate the whites and the colors”, he heard Changmin. Yunho turned to see Changmin standing behind him, looking quite appalled.

“That’s a load of corporate crap! I have been washing them all together all these years. They are all fine”, defended Yunho.

Yunho poured in some liquid detergent and just called it a day.

“No fabric softener”, exclaimed Changmin.

“Ok, you need to chill. Trust me, I have my own style and preferences while washing my clothes”, said Yunho holding Changmin by his arm and slowly directing him away from the washing machine.

“At least use warm water while washing it”, insisted Changmin feverently.

“I’ll consider it”, said Yunho. Changmin looked apoplectic at his response. Yunho went and changed the input to warm water.

“Happy”, he asked Changmin. Changmin just shook his head and muttered something under his breath.

Changmin grumbled how could a man keep on living like that. At least when Changmin was doing everything, things were done properly, orderly and neatly. Changmin has no idea where Yunho’s sudden fiercely independent streak came from but it has been more of a pain than help.

Firstly, Yunho didn’t seem to be eating at home anymore. It could never be healthy to eat all your meals outside. Then Yunho said that he would take care of his own laundry. Changmin wouldn’t go into Yunho’s laundry skills but he won’t even fold his clean pile of clothes. And the fact that Changmin cannot do anything about it was pissing him off. He didn’t think he could go one more day seeing those clean clothes just crushed together in a pile.

Changmin saw Yunho moving about the living room but something caught his eye. His gaze traveled to Yunho’s crotch, something was flopping.

 

“I did want to ask you something”, said Yunho turning to Changmin. He walked to stand in front of Changmin who was sitting on the couch.

“How does the whole thing go down”, asked Yunho.

“Down”, said Changmin confused, his attention completely focused on Yunho’s crotch.

“I mean, you must have been taught like an everything that needs to be done in a crowning ceremony. I have watched some videos of the whole ceremony but still wanted to hear it from someone like you, who has probably been groomed for it”, expanded Yunho. he waited to hear a response. And it did come after a while.

“You are not wearing any underwear”, said Changmin, mostly to Yunho’s crotch. Had he been looking at that the whole time, Yunho was flustered. Still, he pushed through.

“Ahh.. you know... it’s nice to let it free sometimes”, he said scratching his head, feeling a bit conscious.

“Really? Even with all the flopping around”, asked Changmin scrunching his nose.

“Oh yeah, you should try it sometimes too. Seriously, take off your underwear”, insisted Yunho.

“What”, exclaimed Changmin burning up in embarrassment. Yunho just realized what had tumbled out of his mouth.

“Not right now, that’s not what I meant”, backpedaled Yunho.

“You are weird”, remarked Changmin getting up from the couch. He started moving in the direction of his office.

“No, really. Before, you moved in with me, I used to sleep naked”, insisted Yunho following the Omega.

“You sleep”, mocked Changmin as he entered his office with Yunho behind him.

“Of course, I do. You just happen to fall asleep before I go to bed and wake up later than me”, defended Yunho.

Changmin turned to argue, “I get 7 hours of sleep on a good day. So, you sleep even less than that”

“Yah, the 7 hours thing is a hoax. I have been doing with 4 hours for the years now. And, I am fine”, retorted Yunho.

Changmin looked like he was going to argue some more but he held his tongue.

“You really do like living life on the edge, don’t you”, he taunted instead.

“It’s just my style, I don’t recommend it for others”, stated Yunho with a shrug. With a disapproving shake of head, Changmin went about searching for something. He pulled out a heavy book and pushed it towards Yunho.

“Here, this the book outlining everything required of the modern day Duke”, Changmin said gesturing at the book. Yunho took it from. Damn, this thing was so heavy, Yunho could use them as weights for workout.

“But this is so heavy, can’t you give me a spark notes version of this”, asked Yunho.

“Why would I make notes on this? It’s boring as shit”, replied Changmin, quite outraged by Yunho’s question.

“You can’t expect to go through the book”, said Yunho, incredulously.

“Tough, Duke Jung”, said Changmin coolly and walked back to the living room.

“C’mon, I will get the lint out from the dryer if you help me”, bargained Yunho following Changmin like a lost puppy.

 

Changmin turned and looked at him, quite horrified.

 

“You mean, you weren’t going to”, he exclaimed.

“Ahh...I forget”, excuse ready at the tip of his tongue. Well, it was Changmin’s fault. He was so prompt at taking care of all of this so Yunho never even gave it a thought.

“Give me the damn book”, said Changmin snatching the book from Yunho’s hands.

 

* * *

 

Yunho did convince Changmin to help him out with the book but now he wasn’t even paying attention to what the Omega was saying. Changmin had whipped out his thick framed glasses, which made him look like the quintessential sexy librarian who had stepped out of porn. Changmin used a smooth soothing voice when explaining things which was doing things to Yunho. And god, everytime Changmin flipped his hair, Yunho’s cock jumped a bit.

 

“Why do you look prettier with glasses”, slipped out of Yunho’s mouth before he realized.

Changmin scoffed at that and said, “I look like a nerd”

“A nerd who sits at the back of the library writing porn. Everyone would assume that the doe-eyed Omega is just doing his homework. But the truth is”, Yunho paused to close the gap between them.

“He is fellating the pen in beautiful mouth the way he is fantasizing of fellating the cock of the jock who has been wanting to take the next step with him”, Yunho said.

He pushed his long and think middle finger into Changmin’s generous mouth. Changmin moaned and pushed down on his tongue. Changmin felt Yunho’s finger retracting. But soon enough it was pushed in once again. Changmin formed an ‘o’ shape around Yunho’s finger and sucked on it as Yunho kept thrusting his finger in and out.

Changmin clenched his leg shut, he was starting to get wet. Yunho could immediately smell it and he took his finger out. Changmin quickly glanced at Yunho’s cock, it was up like a flag pole.

“You wanna do it, I will keep my glasses on”, Changmin said with heavy breaths. Yunho immediately moved to get rid of his shorts. Changmin pulled off his tee, it knocked his glasses askew so he fixed them before getting rid of his shorts.

However, Yunho was on him, knocking him flat on his back before he could start removing his shorts. Yunho pinched his nipples. Changmin let out a low whine in response. Yunho could clearly see Changmin’s stomach muscles contracting at that. Changmin’s body was so beautifully sculpted.

“I didn’t get to play with them the first time”, said Yunho before he closed his lips around  his left nipple and sucked hard on it.

“Ahhh”, Changmin gasped in pleasure as Yunho went to town with his nipple. Yunho bit down a little hard on it. Changmin jolted, he felt his cock jump at that. Yunho felt that too, his crotch was pressed onto to Changmin’s. Yunho smirked and said, “Think I found something”. Changmin was burning in embarrassment so he looked away from him, Yunho grinned and soothed the nipple with some gentle licks. He closed his mouth around it and sucked on it again. This time Changmin’s hands automatically went to tug on Yunho’s hair as he groaned.

Yunho pulled back a bit and admired his work. Changmin’s left nipple looked all puffy and pink. Yunho rubbed on it which made Changmin moan.

“This one is swollen, you must be feeling sensitive”, as he pressed down on it. Changmin let out a low whine at that. Changmin then felt Yunho pinch his right nipple.

“This one shouldn’t feel left out”, said Yunho before he proceeded to suck on his right nipple as well. Changmin ran his nail across Yunho’s back as Yunho continued to lick, suck and bite at his right nipple. He couldn’t stop some tears that were involuntarily escaping from the corner of his eyes. The stimulation was too much for him, he was so wet that Yunho could just enter him right now. He had no idea that his nipples could be so sensitive.

Yunho pulled back and admired the two pink and swollen nipples. Yunho could just play with them forever. But the Omega’s sweet smell was beckoning to him. Yunho slid downwards and put his nose on Changmin’s crotch taking in that heady scent.

“Your pants are soaked”, said Yunho licking the thin material of Changmin’s shorts.

“Just put it in already”, said Changmin losing his patience, this was the longest foreplay he had ever had.

“I need to take your underwear off before I can put it in”, teased Yunho.

“Smartass”, huffed Changmin. Yunho pulled both the shorts and the underwear off in one go. Yunho was hard enough to pound nails by now. He lifted Changmin’s legs up entered him in one go.

Yunho clenched his jaw trying not to come, Changmin was so tight!

It had been a month since they last fucked so he had become tight again, Changmin thought. If only they fucked with the frequency of normal newly-weds, Changmin would at least get used to Yunho’s massive size. Yunho gave him time to adjust and then started moving. The man clearly knew how to work his hips as he started hitting his prostate consistently after a few thrusts.

Yunho knew they were both not going to last long, there both too pent up. This was going to be quick and dirty. He tugged on Changmin’s soft, downy hair as looked into his eyes as he focused nailing Changmin’s prostate in short and quick thrusts. Changmin was biting his lips, Yunho knew the Omega was close. Yunho could feel his knot beginning to swell, he started to pull back but Changmin dug his nails deeper into Yunho’s back.

“Stay”, the Omega said looking into eyes, pure lust in his voice. Yunho felt his knot swell faster at that. The knot pressed up on Changmin’s prostate pushing him off the edge. His cum shot up up to his neck. Yunho couldn’t help but swoop in to take a lick of it.

“It’s thick, it had been building up”, said Yunho squeezing Changmin’s balls gently.

“Ahhh...”, Changmin gasped, too sensitive.

Yunho’s balls were heavy, ready to just empty into Changmin. The knot had plugged up Changmin nice and tight. Changmin clenched against him and Yunho spurted deep into him. First of the many spurts that would come in the long period that the knotting would last.

Yunho moved them to lie side by side facing each other on the couch while he continued to flood Changmin’s insides with his come. Suddenly the silence between them was broken by the shrill noise hinting the end of the cycle from the dryer.

“Don’t forget to clear the lint”, said Changmin with a smirk.

He just nipped at his neck in response. Yunho brought their hands together and entwined their fingers together. He realized that Changmin’s ring was still missing from his finger. He tried not to feel bad about that. His Omega was right here, tied to him,  getting knotted and bred. Surely, that is more reassurance than the ring could ever provide him with. Still, Yunho couldn’t stop himself from tracing Changmin’s ring finger where the ring should have been.

 

* * *

 

From the time they arrived at the palace, Yunho started feeling antsy. He wasn’t sure if it was tomorrow’s ceremony or the fact that he was to be inducted into royalty, increasing his responsibilities and changing societal expectations out of him. Thankfully, the palace had a forest close to it where he could escape to in his wolf form.

Since he lived in the city, he almost never had the luxury of transforming completely into his wolf form and enjoying the feel of dirt beneath his paws. Last time, he had transformed was a year ago when he had gone to Gwangju for some days.

“Yunho”, he would always recognize that voice.

He turned in the direction on the voice to find a shell-shocked Changmin standing. Yunho wondered if Changmin was one of the people who looked down upon complete transformations. There were far too many elitists that Yunho had come across who felt full transformation to be too primitive and animalistic and they had no place in a civilized culture.

“Wow”, Changmin exclaimed as he came closer to Yunho. Yunho was a beautiful silver wolf with black timber around his eyes and snout. He was intimidatingly huge in size. His eyes shone pearl red.

“You look...”, Changmin trailed off as he hesitated to touch the Alpha. Yunho could smell Changmin’s slight fear so just pushed his head a bit forward and rubbed his head against Changmin’s hands. It seemed to work as Changmin brought both his hands and ran through the Alpha’s fur

“Majestic”, he said, the Omega’s beautiful doe-eyes tingling with admiration

 

_Yunho: “Changmin-ah”_

 

Changmin was stunned as he heard Yunho’s voice but the Alpha hadn’t even moved his mouth.

 

“Say something again”, urged Changmin.

 

_Yunho: “Changdol-ah”_

 

There it was again! Yunho’s lovely voice. Changmin laughed in wonderment.

 

“I can hear you. This has never happened before”, said Changmin burying his face in the Alpha’s fur.

 

_Yunho: “Me neither. They say only bonded pairs can communicate like this”_

 

Changmin pulled back and immediately stripped off his clothes. Yunho was slightly scared and excited guess what it was leading upto. Changmin transformed as well. Soon enough, there was a beautiful white arctic wolf with golden eyes crouching in front of him.

 

_Changmin: “What? No Reaction”_

 

_Yunho: “No, just...you are beautiful in every form, Changdol”_

 

_Changmin: “You are silver tongued in every form, I see”_

 

_Changmin: “Sleep still eluding you”_

 

_“Yunho: Just feeling a little restless so I came out here”_

 

_“Changmin: These woods are nice, I remember playing around here when I was a pup”_

 

_Yunho: “You grew up here ?”_

 

_Changmin: “We lived here until I was 8 years old or so. Then, Dad rented it out, the cost of maintenance was high. At least this way, we are getting some profits out of it. It’s a good tourist spot now, people get to experience the royal life”_

 

Changmin could smell the Alpha’s restlessness.

 

_Changmin: “What is it”_

 

_Yunho: “Don’t you hate me for coveting what was yours”_

 

_Changmin: “You aren’t talking about food are you”_

 

_Yunho: “The ‘title’. All of this was supposed to be yours and now you have to stand and watch someone else take it”_

 

_Changmin: “Someone else ? You are my husband. Besides, a title means nothing more than additional press coverage and business connections nowadays”_

 

_Yunho: “Both of which are of no value to you”_

 

_Changmin: “I suck at socializing. It’s nice that you know how to sweet talk everyone. You would think marrying a royal would have at least gained you a socialite husband. But looks like you got the wrong end of the deal, here”_

 

Yunho turned and nipped at the Omega’s ears.

 

_Changmin: “Ouch, what was that for”_

 

_Yunho: “You talking smack about my Changdollie”_

 

_Changmin: “Your Changdollie can badmouth himself if he wants to”_

 

With that Changmin head-butted Yunho on his side, knocking him off his feet. Changmin the immediately took off as Yunho chased after him for retribution.

 

Changmin was a fast runner there was no way that the Alpha could catch him.

 

Yunho though took a different approach rather than chasing the Omega he figured out where he he would be headed to and took the shortest path to intercept him. Changmin couldn’t stop himself as the Alpha leaped out from behind the trees to intercept him, he crashed into Yunho.

 

Yunho took it as a challenge and tackled him on to the ground, pinning him, belly up. They both transformed back into their human forms. They met in the middle for a desperate kiss grinding against each other, feeling each other’s hard on.  

 

“Room, now”, growled Yunho, his eyes flashing red.

 

* * *

 

 

They both ended up in the shower stall, Yunho taking Changmin from behind. Changmin was still a little loose from their fucking earlier in the morning so this time Yunho wasted no time slipping into him and fucking him hard from the get-go.

 

When Changmin orgasmed, his legs gave out. His thighs were quivering from the unexpected running he had done in his wolf form and the orgasm knocked out his remaining strength. Thankfully, Yunho was there to catch him. He supported his weight and moved them so that they were sitting in the tub, Changmin between his legs. The angle though, it made the knot press up directly against Changmin’s prostate. Changmin almost sobbed from the overstimulation.

 

Changmin felt Yunho’s reassuring hands rubbing up against his arms.

 

“Just a few more minutes and it will go down”, he said and Yunho brought his hand to rub against Changmin’s belly. Changmin looked at his belly, it was slightly distended by the amount the cum that Yunho was pumping into him. He absently wondered if he would have conceived a litter by now if it weren’t for protection.

 

* * *

 

Yunho woke up to persistent knocks on the door. He looked to side to check on Changmin. Thankfully, he was sound asleep, he would loathe to wake him up when they were up late, last night. Yunho looked around for pants or at least boxers but there were none. He went to the bathroom and quickly put on a bathrobe and went to open the door.

 

When he opened the door, he was faced with an extremely unimpressed Heechul.

 

“Yunho-yah, you were supposed to come down for breakfast like 30 minutes ago”, Heechul whined loudly.

 

“Shhh... Changminnie is still sleeping”, said Yunho trying to hush Heechul.

 

“How did you even manage to oversleep”, asked Heechul lowering his voice.

 

“We got in a little late, last night”, said Yunho sheepishly, scratching his head. Heechul knew all of his tells.

 

“You stayed up all night, fucking”, Heechul exclaimed.

 

“Shh....”, Yunho asked him to keep it down once again.

 

“Shouldn’t the honeymoon period be over, by now? Or are you in a hurry to bring Jung Jr. into this world”, taunted Heechul.

 

“Would you stop it ? I will be out in 15 minutes”, said Yunho, running out of patience.

 

“You better. Your mom is pissed that you and his highness did not show up for breakfast”, warned Heechul.

 

“Shit”, cursed Yunho. He had dropped the ball, big time!

 

“Shit is right. You grandmother though, she is like pouring gasoline over the fire. She kept saying that they should get ready to welcome her second grandchild”, added in Heechul.

 

“I will be down soon, hold the fort”, said Yunho.

 

“Donghae’s already doing that”, Heechul waved him off.

 

“What about the mister”, asked Heechul.

 

“Let him rest”, promptly replied Yunho.

 

“Whipped”, remarked Heechul. Yunho was just about to turn away when Heechul threw a box towards him

 

“Here”, he said as Yunho caught it on reflex. He looked at the box and immediately recognized it. His face lit up.

 

“You are the best, hyung”, Yunho said and went in for a hug but Heechul stepped out of his reach.

 

“Shower”, Heechul said.

 

* * *

 

 Changmin was enjoying the room service Yunho had ordered for him. He was fresh out of shower, wearing just a bathrobe. Food, Sex and Literature were the three ways to please him. Yunho had quickly discovered the first one. Changmin loved that Yunho always kept buying him food. That definitely was the way to get into his good books. Didn’t hurt that the man was an absolute beast in bed, too. Even though Changmin would have to walk with a slight limp today, he would still jump into the bed with Yunho in a hot second.

 

“Changmin-ah, you up”, Yunho’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

 

“Hmm”, Changmin replied with food in his mouth. Yunho came into his view and Changmin had to struggle to keep his mouth shut.

 

Yunho seemed to have already styled, side-parted but bangs slicked backwards. He had put on some base make up and his lips looked so inviting. Damn, Changmin almost wanted to go for a third round.

 

“Min-ah”, Yunho called out to Changmin.

 

Shit, Yunho was talking to him and Changmin had completed zoned out, too busy admiring the Alpha.

 

“Whhaff”, Changmin asked chewing his food.

 

Yunho just shook his head and said, “Nothing, finish your breakfast”

 

“Don’t tell me what to do”, was on the tip of his tongue but his words died as Yunho started stripping quickly. Changmin put his chin on his hands and ogled his Alpha.

 

Changmin was disappointed to see those strong thighs disappear into pants. Yunho then wore a crisply pressed white shirt over his white wife-beater. Changmin would have preferred it without the wife-beater but it would be scandalous if Yunho’s nipples were visible during the ceremony.

 

The white shirt had a high neck collar with intricate gold patterns on them. The sleeves also had that beautiful pattern on them. Yunho then turned and sighed at the pearl red coronation robes he had to put on. Yunho would never be able to put that on by himself. So, Changmin got up gingerly and limped slightly towards the robes.

 

“You ok”, Yunho asked him when noticed his gait.

 

“Peachy”, shot back Changmin promptly. It was embarrassing to acknowledge in front of Yunho. At least, with others he could just fake a cramp.

 

Changmin then concentrated on the task at hand. Yunho in turn focused on Changmin. So much for not depending on Changmin. Changmin has so seamlessly integrated into his life that it’s hard for him to knowingly put distance between them. Even now, Yunho didn’t even utter a single word and Changmin just automatically came in to help him with his robes. Now, he is in front of him, assessing his look, brushing off lint from his clothes, doing his cufflinks.

 

He thought he had a plan and now he doesn’t know how to stop getting attached to the man in front of him. Changmin, who looked so beautiful, just standing there in a plain bathrobe, barefaced, hair still a bit wet, eyes a bit tired but oh so beautiful.

 

“You are so pretty like this”, slipped out of Yunho’s mouth. Changmin gave a self-deprecating laugh in response.

 

“You abuse that word too much. Besides, you have no right to call anyone pretty when you look like Ken-doll yourself”, replied Changmin before he turned away from Yunho.

 

“Changdol-ah”, called out Yunho grabbing Changmin’s wrist. Changmin turned to look at him. Yunho produced a familiar ring box in front of Changmin. He opened the box. That was Changmin’s wedding ring, only it didn’t look as huge in diameter as it used to be.

 

Changmin asked, “You, when did you..”

 

“Yesterday, we were busy so I asked Heechul hyung to pick it up after it was resized”, replied Yunho.

 

“I would have done it”, argued Changmin.

 

“It was my fault anyway”, said Yunho.

 

Changmin put out his hand asking for the ring. Yunho smirked and turned his palm over and swiftly put the ring in Changmin’s ring finger. It was a perfect fit, now. Yunho looked at Changmin to catch his red ears.

 

“Too frigging cheesy”, Changmin mumbled under his breath and walked away.

 

* * *

 

 “Min-ah. Thought, you didn’t want any makeup done at all”, exclaimed Changmin’s mother as he showed up to the room where she and Hyejin had been setup for makeup and hair.

 

Changmin didn’t say anything and simply made himself comfortable on a chair. He wasn’t going to tell his mother how inferior he felt when he saw Yunho all dressed up. So, he bit the bullet and came here to at least look decent beside his hunk of a husband.

 

“Ohh, you didn’t cut your hair! That’s a relief”, Hyejin exclaimed in relief as soon as she turned to him.

 

“Did you get busy and forget? Because, you were hell bent on getting rid of it”, asked his mother curious

 

“It’s getting cold so I have decided to keep it for now”, said Changmin as he had rehearsed in his head.

 

There was no way he was telling his mother the real reason why he decided to keep it. The biggest reasons being, Changmin enjoying Yunho tugging on his hair during sex and his habit of unconsciously playing with his hair when they were tied together.  And Yunho thinks he is smooth but Changmin knows when he stands behind him in kitchen and surreptitiously smells his hair.

 

“Just do the base makeup, don’t want to rile up Min-ah”, Changmin’s mother instructed Hyejin.

 

“So, hold the eyeliner”, Hyejin asked.

 

“No”, said Changmin. Changmin’s mother seemed very pleased by the turn of events.

 

* * *

 

Yunho was standing beside Changmin waiting for the ceremony to begin. He couldn’t take his eyes off Changmin. He looked so at home with the ceremonial robes. Anyone could give him a glance and know that man was born to royalty.

 

Changmin turned to look at him, he assessed him a bit and frowned.

 

“Insoles? Again ? Have some shame, would you”, said Changmin.

 

“What ? This is my actual height”, defended Yunho. Changmin was about to say something but thankfully the ceremony began.

 

There was a royal representative of each house. The Queen herself had shown up to bless Yunho with the ceremonial sword and induct Yunho as the Duke. Finally, the coronet that belonged to Duke Shim was to be passed on to him.

 

Changmin stepped up to the stage with the coronet in his hands. As Changmin walked up to, Yunho thought how the coronet would suit the Omega, better.

 

Changmin smiled and place the coronet on his hand. He couldn’t help himself from obsessively fixing Yunho’s hair after he had placed the coronet. Yunho smirked because he had guessed that this would happen.

 

But then something happened that Yunho would have never guessed. Changmin leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on his lips. Yunho couldn’t hide his huge smile after Changmin pulled back shyly, with his eyes firmly planted on the ground.

 

* * *

 

Great, more pictures! Changmin thought he would get a pass because Yunho was the main guy of the occasion. But no, everyone wants pictures of them together.

“Could we get one with the Jung family only”, asked the press photographers after pictures of both the families together were taken.

 

When Changmin turned to leave, Yunho caught him by his wrist. Changmin looked at him confused.

 

“I know you didn’t change your name but you are still a Jung”, said Yunho with conviction. Changmin looked at Yunho’s family. Most of them gave him a kind smile except for Yunho’s mother who avoided his gaze.

 

“Excellent”

 

“Thank You”

 

Apparently, the photographers had clicked their pictures with Yunho grabbing Changmin’s wrist and them looking at each other while the rest of the family looked at the camera.

 

* * *

 

“You seem happy”, Yunho turned in the direction of his mother’s voice. This was the first time since the wedding that his mother had talked to him.

 

“Are you surprised”, asked Yunho earnestly.

 

“Somewhat, but new things can bring in temporary excitement just because of their novelty. Slowly but surely it will wear off”, she said turning to look at Changmin who was animatedly talking to Jihye and Eunchae.

 

* * *

 

 

“Chami”, Eunchae called out to Changmin extending both her arms towards him.

 

“You want to go to samcheon”, asked Jihye.

 

Eunchae nodded and said, “Chami Up”

 

Changmin looked a bit unsure, “I am not sure how to hold her”

 

Jihye couldn’t help but giggle at his statement.

 

* * *

 

“Are you planning to have kids, soon”, asked Yunho’s mother turning to him.

 

“No”, Yunho replied a bit too hastily. Yunho’s mother raised her brow at that.

 

“We haven’t discussed about it”, said Yunho in lieu of damage-control.

 

“I hope you do consider before bringing kids into this marriage. Do you really think Changmin is father-material”, she said before walking away.

 

* * *

 

 

Changmin almost rolled his eyes when saw Siwon making his way towards him and Yunho. It was unavoidable. The crowning of a Duke required all the other noble ranks below him to at least send out one representative from their family. He had gotten lucky with Ara’s father showing up instead of Lady Ara. Otherwise that would have gotten awkward very fast.

 

“Duke Jung”, he greeted Yunho with a slight bow.

 

“You don’t have to address me like that. You have called me Yunho for years now”, replied Yunho.

 

“Changmin-ssi”, Siwon greeted with a fake smile.

 

“Earl Choi”, Changmin greeted back with an even faker smile.

 

“I am sorry I missed the marriage. I heard it was quite an affair. I hope my gift reached you”, said Siwon turning to Yunho.

 

Of course Changmin remembers his gift. There was a watch for Yunho which Changmin had tried to have Yunho dispose off. In this day and age, who even uses antique watches anymore. It’s apple watch or bust! Yunho then had spouted off his love for all antique things. Changmin thought that it was weird for an inventor like Yunho to be attached to antique things. Anyway, Yunho still has the watch.

 

However, the expensive ring that Siwon had bought for Changmin went straight to ‘auction for charity’.

 

“Yes, that was very generous of you”, said Yunho politely. He had kind of moved past his last talk with Siwon. Yunho logically understood that Siwon had good intentions, he was trying to protect his friend but the way he went about doing it left much to be desired. After that, he still had left him a congratulations message for his wedding and sent them thoughtful gifts. Besides, he was one of the royals who was Yunho’s friend before he became a royal himself.

 

“My apologies for the absence but I have been far too busy planning out my own marriage”, said Siwon, casually throwing in the news in the conversation.

 

Changmin couldn’t help the smile that broke out on his face. Finally! Good riddance! Although, Changmin felt bad for whoever ended up being Siwon’s spouse. Changmin was just thankful that he had dodged a bullet.

 

“Congratulations! This is great news”, said Changmin with a big smile.

 

“It would be great if you both could attend. My fiance really wanted to greet the Duke and his mate”, Siwon requested both of them but he specifically extended the invitation card to Changmin. Yeah, Changmin would let Yunho take that instead.

 

“We will definitely be there”, said Yunho taking the card from Siwon’s hand when he figured that Changmin wouldn’t take it.

 

Changmin wanted to elbow Yunho right there. He didn’t want any part in Siwon’s wedding.

 

“Thank you”, Siwon bowed and took his leave. Changmin turned to Yunho to give him a piece of his mind for accepting invites on his behalf but Yunho was called over by someone else. So, he handed the card to Changmin and excused himself. Yunho was so not escaping from this.

 

Changmin looked at the card, it seemed like it was sprinkled with gold dust or some expensive shit like that. What a terrible waste of money! Just for shits and giggles he opened the card. A familiar name caught his eye.

 

Changmin did a double take to make sure that he was reading it right.

 

Choi Siwon Weds Cho Kyuhyun

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was kind of a spoiler/shock pairing I didn't tag because you know it kind of spoils the story forward. Anyway, no more shock pairings, this is the only one. Hope you ppl have a great Sunday!


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooohh.... running a bit late again. Felt like I kind of struggled with this chapter but thankfully I got it out. Thank you for everyone who are still with this fic and drop in some kind words in the comments. Also, thank you for everyone who has been hitting the kudos button. Huffff... the word count seems to be getting up there. Hope you guys have a great week, ahead

Changmin had talked himself out of calling Kyuhyun and demanding answers from him. It was ridiculous. Kyuhyun was free to do as he wished, Changmin had no say in whatever he did. He just hoped that he knew what he was getting into when he decided to marry Siwon. There was no way Siwon would know about him and Kyuhyun anyway. He would have thrown a big fit if he even had an inkling about it so, at least Changmin didn’t have to worry about that.

 

He had been far too busy after Yunho had been crowned the Duke. Yunho and him have been visiting a lot of orphanages, hospitals, elderly homes and shelters to help drum up more charitable donations for them. These are all causes that Yunho had been donating to over the years so he wanted to use his newly gained position to promote the cause even more. This is something Changmin’s father would never have done. It made Changmin all the more glad that the power went into the hands of someone like Yunho who would actually use it for people’s welfare than to fill up his own coffers.

 

Currently, Changmin was sitting on the bed in a hoodie and his boxers, having just come out from a warm shower, after a long, winding day. As Changmin was going through his messages, his attention went to the ever increasing number of unread messages under Kyuhyun’s name. Changmin has been ignoring him since the last time they had met.

 

Today though, he felt curious. He did want to know if Siwon pressured Kyuhyun to marry him or did he marry him out of his free will. He was too prideful to call Kyu and ask him all of these questions himself. But maybe these messages could answer his questions. He opened the unread messages and scrolled to the oldest to the get the context of each of the texts.

 

_“Saw some of your pictures today with your husband. You looked like you were in love”_

 

_“It's funny coz you don't believe in it. Yet, it would be  almost karmic if you fell for the only person who can't return it”_

Changmin felt a bit pinched at that and he hated that these words actually managed to get some kind of reaction out of him.

 

_“It broke my heart”_

 

_“Can't believe my life is again leading me to you”_

 

_“I hate the fact that I am still thinking of you”_

 

_“I hate my friend for abandoning me”_

 

_“Guess I am a royal, too”_

 

_“I didn't want to invite you but Siwon insisted. I am sorry for all the awkwardness. Will you pick up the phone, at least once? Or have you really blocked me”_

 

_“Guess, I am talking to a wall here”_

 

Changmin was debating whether he should give Kyuhyun a call when the door was thrown open, startling him

 

“Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you”, said Yunho as he walked into their bedroom.

 

“It's fine. I am just jumpy”, replied Changmin putting away his phone. Yunho sighed and just collapsed on the bed, flat . He was still wearing his formal trousers, shirt and a loosened tie. Changmin could clearly see dark-circles around Yunho’s eyes. It wasn’t surprising considering the Alpha’s sleeping habits. However, Changmin could totally understand why Yunho looked so exhausted. The whole day today, they were doing rounds at shelters and orphanages, interacting with people in there took a huge emotional toll on the Alpha and as soon as they returned, Yunho had to handle something at the office. Changmin didn’t know how Yunho managed to keep working like a machine.

 

“Yunho...”, Changmin called out in a patronizing voice when the Alpha stayed put for a while.

 

“Aw c’mon I took my shoes off”, whined Yunho refusing to open his eyes.

 

“Yes, congratulations”, responded Changmin sarcastically. Changmin reached out and shook Yunho’s arm to get him to open his eyes. Yunho did open his eyes but miserably pouted at Changmin for disturbing him.

 

“What ? Don’t tell me you are tired”, said Changmin to draw out a reaction from the Alpha.

 

“Yes, shocking, I know”, said Yunho rolling his eyes.

 

“First tiredness and now sarcasm ? Are you turning into me”, taunted Changmin moving to lie down beside Yunho.

 

“I will have to work hard on the nagging to even get close”, retorted Yunho with a smirk. Changmin shook his head and reached out to take out Yunho’s tie. Once that was done he bent over Yunho and started unbuttoning his shirt.

 

Yunho just quietly stared at Changmin’s face as he went about undressing him with utmost concentration.

 

“Changdol”, he called out after a while.

 

“Hmm”, responded Changmin absently, busy un-tucking Yunho’s shirt from his pants.

 

“I have to go to Japan”, said Yunho. Changmin paused for a but then resumed nonchalantly.

 

“Oh”, responded Changmin apathetically.

 

Yunho pursued his lips at the cool response. He didn't know what he had expected but to be brushed off like that was a bit underwhelming. Especially because he had wanted to ask Changmin to accompany him to Japan. But now it looked very likely that the Omega would dismiss the idea. Also, he might think that Yunho was being unnecessarily clingy especially in a marriage like theirs.

 

“It will be for a week”, Yunho added to see if he could draw any reaction out from the Omega.

 

“Cool”, said Changmin absently as he took Yunho’s shirt off.

Yeah, Yunho would definitely come across as needy if he voiced his wish.

 

So, instead he went for a sarcastic remark, “Don’t steal all my hoodies while I am away”

 

Changmin immediately jumped in to defend himself, “I don’t ..”

 

But he trailed off once he realized he was wearing one of Yunho’s hoodies. Yunho smirked at him in response. It was a common occurrence, Changmin seemed to like wearing hoodies but didn't seem to own much of it so he always kept wearing Yunho’s. Yunho had never pointed it out earlier because honestly it was such turn on for him to see Changmin in his clothes.

 

“Oh, shut up”, said Changmin hitting Yunho’s chest, flustered. Yunho smiled at that.

 

“You say that now but you will miss my chatter the whole time I am gone”, said Yunho.

 

“Don’t bet on it”, shot back Changmin rolling his eyes.

 

“I need to buy a bigger travel bag”, mused Yunho loudly.

 

“Why”, asked Changmin hovering over Yunho.

 

“So that I can fit you in it”, replied Yunho before he surged up to steal a quick kiss from Changmin’s lips. Changmin hit his chest again, embarrassed.

 

“Do you normally tend to spout off more nonsensical cheesy lines when you are tired ? Or is today a special day”, Changmin whined decidedly not looking at Yunho.

 

“No, it just naturally comes out ‘coz I know it pisses you off”, shot back Yunho, feeling smug at Changmin’s red ears.

 

“Sadist”, said Changmin unbuttoning Yunho’s pants. Changmin felt a little smug when he saw that Yunho had become hard by his ministrations.

 

Changmin smirked and said, “You know, you say you are tired but ...”

 

He paused to grab Yunho’s cock through his underwear.

“This begs to differ”, he said squeezing it a bit. Yunho suppressed a moan at that.

 

“Don’t worry, I am too tired to do anything about it”, responded Yunho with a tired, heavy drawl.

 

“Then, why don’t you just sit back and let me do all the work”, said Changmin moving to straddle Yunho’s thighs.

 

The Omega then proceeded to ride Yunho’s cock like a champ. He worked his hips so beautiful to get Yunho deeper in him. When Changmin had arched his back as he threw his head back reaching completion, Yunho felt like he was staring at a lewd renaissance art. It was truly a beautiful sight and turned Yunho on, so much!

 

Later when they were lying face to face waiting for Yunho’s knot to go down, Changmin had already slipped into sleep. The Omega was becoming used to knotting, more and more. Yunho brought hands to Changmin’s hips. He squeezed it a bit.

 

Changmin had a beautiful hourglass figure. Yunho absently wondered of the Omega’s hips would grow even wider if he became pregnant. Yeah the hormones were making him crazy, he immediately abandoned that line of thought.

 

Yunho proceeded to scent Changmin to distract himself from stupid thoughts. Yunho wondered how it would have turned out if he had asked the Omega to come with him to Japan after all. He probably would have declined. Yunho pulled back and planted a soft kiss on Changmin’s forehead, he was going to miss him.

 

* * *

 

 

Yunho and Jongin were locked in a discussion during their meeting. Yunho knew he had acted more intimidatingly towards Jongin than he usual but the Alpha seemed to handling it well enough. Yunho didn't know why but something about the guy ticked him off. Yunho would deny the fact that it was because he had a nickname for Changmin.

 

“We are going to bring in a lot of professional voice actors for the audio-books. So that they can deliver the emotions that the book delivers”, said Jongin.

 

Yunho pursued his lips as he evaluated the decision.

 

“That is a very sound decision, focuses on the quality. I approve of it”, Yunho said finally finding no flaws with the plan.

 

“However, it would be nice to get some unexpected people to feature as the narrators”, added Yunho circling some points on the file they were going through.

 

“Like celebs ? Actors, idols ?”, asked Jongin puzzled.

 

“Well, not quite. You will have to sell quite a lot to even recover just the cost of hiring them”, replied Yunho.

 

“So”, asked Jongin hoping Yunho to expand on his suggestion.

 

“Like say, Moonchild is a famous series, has been applauded by critics and general public. The author though, is quite mysterious. Nobody has seen him nor heard him. Say you peel off one layer of the onion and let everyone hear him”, pitched in Yunho.

 

“Have Hyung narrate his book”, asked Jongin skeptically.

 

“Exactly”, affirmed Yunho.

 

“You know he will never agree to it”, said Jongin shaking his head. Yunho felt a bit absurd at the statement,  why did Jongin assume that Yunho knew the author.

 

“I am not quite sure what you are talking about”, said Yunho perplexed.

 

Jongin sighed and responded, “He has this thing where he wants his work to speak for him. He didn’t even reveal himself when he was awarded a national award, I am sure you understand”

 

“I understand and that’s why I think this audio-book is perfect. His voice isn’t going to give away his identity”, argued Yunho.

 

Jongin sighed and massaged his forehead a bit. Yunho didn't understand what the big deal was.

 

“He is gonna say no to me. But maybe you can convince him”, Jongin finally said. And that was the strangest thing Yunho had ever heard.

 

“Me ? You think he will listen to me over you ? I mean, I barely know the guy”, asked Yunho weirded out by Jongin’s assumption.

 

Jongin seemed quite taken aback by Yunho’s response. What the hell was going on?

 

“But you have been married to him for some time now”, said Jongin utterly confused and a seeming a little judgemental.

 

“What”, Yunho exclaimed, he wasn't sure if he heard Jongin right.

 

Jongin then immediately closed off and said, “I am sorry it’s none of my business what goes on between Changminnie-hyung and you”

 

“Changmin”, exclaimed Yunho. But Changmin couldn't be the author of Moonchild, he ...

 

Yunho thoughts were all muddled. He couldn’t think or say anything. After a while, Jongin broke the silence.

 

“You didn’t know, did you”, Jongin asked sheepishly. Yunho just looked at him utterly confused.

 

“I shall take my leave then”, said Jongin with a wince before making his escape.

 

* * *

 

 

Changmin ventured out of his office. He had a long virtual meeting with his editor back in Japan. She was quite excited about the new erotica series that Changmin had pitched to her and had wanted to hammer out the details of what they wanted to be in the first draft of the story. Sitting on a chair for straight up 2 hours made Changmin feel stiff.

 

When he was done, he walked to the kitchen to get some water and cut some fruits up for himself.

 

When he entered the kitchen, he noticed Yunho standing with a file in his hand, near the refrigerator. He probably came in here to fetch himself his favorite banana-milk but got too engrossed in his work.

 

“You planning on standing there the whole day”, taunted Changmin to get Yunho’s attention. Yunho immediately looked away from his file and looked at Changmin. Changmin shook his head at him and opened the refrigerator to take out Yunho’s banana milk.

 

He handed the milk to Yunho who was still staring at him. “You are welcome”, he said before he moved to fetch an apple , an orange and some grapes from the refrigerator. As he washed them, he noticed that Yunho moved closer to him and continued staring at him some more.

 

“What”, asked Changmin after a moment of silence.

 

“Nothing, just looking”, replied Yunho. It wasn't unlike Yunho to stare at him randomly, Changmin was guilty of doing that to Yunho, too. What, he was just a beautiful person to look at and he was Changmin’s husband so he could stare at Yunho as much he wanted.

 

However, currently Yunho’s staring was making him flustered. So, he gently turned Yunho’s face away.

 

“Why are you shy about this ? You had no compunctions in riding me yesterday”, asked Yunho amused.

 

“Ya.. that’s different. I was horny back then”, shot back Changmin. Trust the Alpha to fight dirty.

 

“You shied away when I stared at you while I was inside you”, argued Yunho. Changmin immediately elbowed Yunho hard in his arm.

 

“Ahhh”, Yunho whined rubbing at the spot.

 

“Do you have a point”, asked Changmin irritated.

 

“There are just so many things that are hard to understand about you”, said Yunho like he was talking out loud to himself than answering Changmin.

 

“Well, it’s a good thing you aren’t doing your thesis on me”, replied Changmin with a smirk.

 

“Why would you be ok with me thinking that you write porn for a living and not tell me that you are Choikang, the national award winning author”, asked Yunho, directly coming to the point.

 

“Who told you that”, asked Changmin as his eyes widened in surprise.

 

“I work with your company now, I was bound to find out someday. Don’t avoid the question”, pressed on Yunho.

 

“Because it's embarrassing”, muttered Changmin before concentrating on peeling the oranges. Yunho was baffled by Changmin’s answer.

 

“How is it embarrassing, I would understand if it was the other way round, because you know serious writers wouldn't want to be associated with an erotica”, asked Yunho, bewildered.

 

“There you go, insulting my work, once again! I am not embarrassed of the erotica, it is a healthy expression of sexuality that everyone appreciates”, defended Changmin fervently.

 

“Even the critics”, asked Yunho.

 

“Screw the critics”, cursed Changmin in response. Before he retrieved a knife and started slicing the apple with some vengeance.

 

“You are changing the topic. Why is it embarrassing for you to be known as Choikang”, pressed on Yunho.

 

Changmin paused and replied sheepishly, “Not embarrassing in general just in front of you”

 

“Why”, asked Yunho confused. He couldn't figure out why it would be embarrassing to Changmin just because of him.

 

“Because you said so many nice things about the book and my writing. How was I to jump in and say - oh, by the way, that's me, you know, your favorite author, I am just awesome”, went off Changmin

 

“But you are awesome”, insisted Yunho fervently.

 

“Cut it out”, said Changmin moving away from Yunho

 

“No, listen”, urged Yunho, grabbing Changmin’s arm and turning him to face him.

 

“You do an amazing work, you know. It's so sensitive. I wish something like that was around when I was a kid”, said Yunho earnestly. Changmin just lowered his gaze not knowing how to deal with earnest compliments like that.

 

“You are beautiful inside and out”, said Yunho almost in wonderment.

 

“It's embarrassing”, said Changmin in a small voice. Changmin’s shy demeanour overwhelmed Yunho as he couldn’t help himself from softly kissing his husband. Changmin batted him away shyly.

 

“Emotional Alpha”, Changmin muttered under his breath as he moved to put the fruits in a bowl. Yunho laughed and embraced him from behind. Changmin quietly set up the bowl with Yunho stuck to his back.

 

After struggling to move a couple of times with Yunho stuck to him, Changmin gave up and asked, “What”

 

“Who is gonna nag me for the next week”, asked Yunho resting his chin on Changmin’s shoulder.

 

Changmin smirked and replied, “If you miss it too much, then I can scold you through facetime”

 

“Seriously, you are going to nag when I am away too”, complained Yunho still stuck to Changmin as they moved to the dining table.

 

“You asked for it”, retorted Changmin. Changmin realized that he couldn’t sit on the chair while Yunho was stuck to him. When Yunho reached forward and started munching on some grapes that Changmin had taken out for himself, Changmin chided him.

 

“Go, get ready”, said Changmin, pushing his back towards Yunho.

 

“For what”, asked Yunho munching on a slice of apple

 

“Siwon’s wedding reception”, replied Changmin with a frown.

 

“That's today, is it”, said Yunho as he moved away from Changmin.

 

Changmin is a little miffed by Yunho moving away. Fucking Siwon, always killing the mood.

 

“You are the one who accepted the invite and you forgot”, taunted Changmin.

 

“You are still not pissed off about that, are you”, asked Yunho a bit concerned.

 

Changmin sighed to gather his thoughts.

 

He finally replied, “I was for a while but I understand why. The position we are at, if we don't show up to important events, it's going to look like a snub”

 

“You don't have to go if you don't want to. I can go in for both of us”, offered Yunho.

 

That did sound great but it just wasn’t worth it. Changmin refused to have people talk about them. It would definitely stir some kind of gossip if Yunho showed up without him especially when they have been married recently.

 

“No, I will go”, said Changmin reluctantly.

 

* * *

 

They ended up arriving a little late to the party. Mostly, because Yunho got pulled into a last minute work call that he took some time to sort out. Then, he and Yunho got into a huge argument about why Yunho felt the need to wear his shoes with insoles. Finally, Yunho wore them anyway and was pleased to look a little taller than him. Changmin had vowed to get himself insoles, too. Two could play this game.

 

Yunho was surprised how Changmin automatically took his arms when they entered the venue. There were whispers around the hall as they entered. Both him and Changmin had learnt to ignore all the whispers now that they had made quite a number of appearances together.

 

Yunho spotted Siwon, who looked a little a flushed. Maybe too much Champagne ?

 

“Changmin”, Siwon exclaimed as soon as he spotted them. Yunho found it a bit odd that he seemed to solely acknowledge Changmin, like he was waiting for him or something.

 

“Earl Siwon”, greeted Changmin, tersely. The guy was three sheets to the wind, thought Changmin.

 

“Kyu, come over here”, Siwon called out to his new husband a little too loudly and animatedly. Yunho saw a tall, young man dressed in a tux, respond to Siwon. Yunho guessed that was Siwon’s husband, he looked like a celebrity, Yunho probably had seen him on the TV one or twice, he wasn’t sure.

 

“I present to you Duke Jung and his mate”, said Siwon grabbing his husband by his waist. His husband seemed a little flustered, noted Yunho. His husband politely greeted both him and Changmin.

 

“You probably know Kyuhyun, he is one of the best young vocalists of our country”, said Siwon far too excited.

 

That jogged Yunho’s memory, Cho Kyuhyun, he had heard some of his ballads.

 

“I have heard some of your songs on the radio, you are very talented”, Yunho said with a smile. He turned to look at Changmin who just gave them a stiff smile.

 

“Not just a pretty face, you see”, said Siwon. Yunho felt like the comment was directed towards Changmin. There was definitely some beef between them, Yunho figured he would ask Changmin about it later.

“Congratulations”, Changmin said politely.

 

“Don't you think we look perfect, together”, pressed on Siwon as he continued addressing Changmin.

 

“Yes, quite”, Yunho replied trying to direct his attention away from Changmin who was starting to look a bit uncomfortable.

 

“Jung Yunho”, a voice interrupted them. Yunho turned in the direction of the voice. It was Siwon’s mother who looked positively gleeful.

 

“Everyone was talking about literally God's walking in, I am sorry that I was sceptical”, she said as she walked up to them.

 

“I am sorry I missed your marriage. I was out of the country and couldn't make it”, she said as she hugged Yunho.

 

“This is Changmin”, introduced Yunho. Changmin greeted her politely with a 90 degree bow.

 

“How are you even more prettier than your pictures”, she exclaimed.

 

“It's almost unfair how good you both look together. We should get a picture together”, she said excitedly grabbing both their hands. She called the photographer to take a picture of all of them including the newly wedded couple. Yunho caught the frown on Siwon’s face before he turned to face the camera.

 

With the picture taken, Siwon’s mother gushed excitedly.

 

“You guys should hurry and have a litter of your own”

 

And that was the exact point where Siwon abruptly turned and walked off leaving his mother and Kyuhyun surprised.

 

* * *

 

Changmin was at the private section of the party, away from the press and photographers. He was looking at the food options when he heard Siwon’s voice.

 

“Look at you, glowing. Looking beautiful and unattainable as always. When it wasn't long time ago that your father was begging me to marry you”

 

Changmin turned around to see Siwon, the guy looked completely smashed.

 

“Hitting that champagne a bit too early, I see. I understand it is a happy occasion but getting wasted at your own wedding is generally looked down upon”, retorted Changmin.

 

“Where do you find all this pride when you whore yourself out for money”, Siwon asked getting closer to Changmin.

 

“If you are hoping to get a rise out of me, you are wasting your breath”, said Changmin turning away from Siwon.

 

“So easy for you to dismiss me like I am nothing but dirt beneath your shoes”, Siwon said bitterly. Changmin had enough of this guy, he walked towards the exit but Siwon blocked him.

 

“No, you listen to me today, Shim Changmin”, he said shaking with anger. Changmin folded his arms and waited for the Alpha’s rant to end.

 

“Does it feel great walking over people’s affections and admiration for you? Must be a great boost to your ego”, taunted Siwon.

 

“I am not sure what you are getting at”, asked Changmin fed up with Siwon’s bs.

 

“Don’t act like you had no idea that I have been crazy about you for years, now. At least give me that much credit”, exclaimed Siwon in anger.

 

Changmin saw Kyuhyun and Yunho hurriedly step into the room, Siwon must have been loud.

 

“That day when I first bumped into you in the library, five years ago, it was like rug had been pulled out from under me. I didn’t hear a single thing you said to me. I couldn’t, you were the most beautiful thing I had ever laid my eyes on and believe me I had seen all the wonders of the world by then”, said Siwon. Changmin rolled his eyes at that.

 

“I went crazy, instead of going about my day, I sat there straight for 2 hours watching you engrossed in a book, flipping your hair, 67 times, I counted it”, spouted off Siwon like a mad man. Changmin visibly cringed at that.

 

“And when I introduced myself to you, you just dismissed me with a stiff smile”, said Siwon bitterly.

 

“I have heard quite enough”, said Changmin. Siwon went to grab him but Changmin stepped out of reach. Siwon stumbled but managed to keep his balance. Kyuhyun rushed to his side to help him but Siwon batted his hands away.

 

“Who the fuck do you think you are? I am an Earl, people beg for my attention! And you reduced me to someone who was begging for scraps of your attention”, exclaimed Siwon.

 

“Think you have had enough”, Changmin heard Yunho before he placed himself between him and Siwon.

 

“And you. I considered you to be a friend and you stole the only thing I had ever wanted in my life”, spit out Siwon.

 

“Look at you, you could have had anyone in this whole world but no. You had to take away the one thing I had ever loved in my whole life”, Siwon went off on Yunho.

Kyuhyun, Yunho and Changmin were shocked by Siwon’s revelations. Siwon scoffed at Changmin.

 

“What ? Shocked ? Because I said I love you”, asked Siwon bitterly.

 

“Why else do you think I am wasted on the supposedly happiest day of my life? You, I can’t forget you”, said Siwon trying to get closer to Changmin but Yunho held him in his place.

 

Changmin was utterly creeped out by the whole thing.

 

Siwon backed off and said,

 

“Look at you two, you wouldn’t know what unrequited love is like! Of course, everyone you both would have ever loved obviously loved you back. Hell, they would be over the moon to get your attention”

 

Kyuhyun shot a meaningful look towards Changmin when Siwon said that.

 

“You know what, Mom was right! It is unfair that you both ended up together, the perfect couple that everyone is envious of”, said Siwon before he walked towards the table.

 

Siwon tsked with frustration before he shoved off everything that was on the table. Dishes and glasses crashed into the ground, shards flying everywhere.

 

“If there is a God somewhere in this world, you both will never find any happiness”, he said finally before he walked off, leaving everyone else shell-shocked.

 

* * *

 

Changmin was in the washroom trying to get this thoughts together when Kyuhyun walked in and locked the door.

 

“How did you never tell me that Choi Siwon was crazy about you”, he accused Changmin.

 

Changin was so tired of all of this drama.

 

“It’s not like you gave me the names of everyone of your admirers”, shot back Changmin.

 

“Yah, that’s different”, defended Kyuhyun.

 

“How is it any different? It’s not like I ever engaged the guy”, argued Changmin.

 

“You are not understanding, this could destroy me”, said Kyuhyun getting frustrated by Changmin’s sass

 

“I am sorry, how was I supposed to know back then that my then boyfriend was going to end up married to him. Had I known, I would have given him a VIP treatment”, shot back Changmin, sarcastically.

 

“Please don’t tell me that you told Yunho everything about me”, asked Kyuhyun, worried.

 

“If you are so worried about keeping your identity a secret then maybe you shouldn’t have created a scene at his Bachelor’s party”, said Changmin. Seriously, Kyuhyun had no legs to stand on, he was the one who almost exposed himself.

 

“I was freaking heartbroken that night. You think I was sane ? I was spewing out anything just to hurt you, get a reaction out of you because your stoicness was killing me”, shot back Kyuhyun in anger.

 

“I don’t wish to rehash whatever happened that night”, said Changmin firmly, he had no patience for the nonsense that Kyuhyun had spouted off last time.

 

“Of course, you don’t. You don’t care, too happy playing house with your shiny new husband”, taunted Kyuhyun.

 

“If this is a ‘beat-up Changmin with words’ event then I suggest you take a number behind your husband”, Changmin cut through the bullshit.

 

“If Siwon comes to know I was the one who you were dating all the while he was after you, there no telling what he would do”, said Kyuhyun, worried. Changmin could see where Kyu’s fears were coming from, he wouldn’t put anything past Siwon but there was no way that Kyu could hide his past from Siwon, forever.

 

“But you would have to tell him at some point about your past, you are married”, reasoned Changmin.

 

“No, I can’t. He is the reason my father’s out of trouble. He could take it all away in a swoop and destroy my career”, Kyuhyun voiced his fear, his voice shaking. Changmin wanted to help Kyuhyun calm down but just didn’t know how.

 

“You can’t tell Yunho who I am, either”, suddenly Kyuhyun said. Changmin was too surprised to say anything to that.

 

“Please, if you tell him and Yunho ever slips and Siwon comes to know from him, it would be even worse”, begged Kyuhyun.

 

“I am not sure...”, trailed off Changmin, hiding things from Yunho just didn’t sit well with him. They have always been open and frank about everything in their relationship. But this could potentially hurt Kyu, he didn’t know what to do.

 

Kyuhyun held him by his arms desperately and pleaded, “If you ever had any feelings for me then please do this for me”

 

* * *

 

Changmin was still replaying his conversation with Kyuhyun while Yunho drove them back home. Changmin was surprised when Yunho parked near the Han river. He then stepped out of the car. Changmin couldn’t quite get a read on what Yunho was planning to do.

 

After a while, Yunho came back with boiling hot ramen.

 

“Here”, he extended a bowl towards Changmin which he immediately accepted. He passed him the chopsticks and then started to dig into his own.

 

“We kind of didn’t get to eat there”, Yunho said with a smile. Changmin managed to smile back. Had it been his car, he would have never allowed food inside it.

 

Yunho noticed that Changmin was too distracted to eat his food, that was truly bizarre. Yunho cleared his throat to get his attention.

 

“I had no idea that Siwon loved you. When I had asked him a long time back, he had denied it”, said Yunho. Changmin looked at him, surprised.

 

“Had I known, I would have never sent you a marriage proposal”, confessed Yunho.

 

“Then I am glad that you didn’t know. My father had arranged me to be married to him had you not proposed to me that day at the bar”, said Changmin.

 

“He sent you a marriage proposal”, asked Yunho, quite taken aback.

 

“An overly enthusiastic one, at that”, replied Changmin finally focusing on his food.

 

“And you still picked me over him”, asked Yunho. Now, it was Changmin turn to be surprised. Did Yunho really believe that Changmin would have ever chosen Siwon over anyone ?

 

“You are surprised”, asked Changmin, perplexed.

 

“He is an Earl, I am a nobody”, said Yunho with a shrug.

 

“You think I should have made my decision according to status”, asked Changmin.

 

“I wasn’t exactly nice to you back then so I can’t see anything appealing about my proposal”, expanded Yunho.

 

“Did you not hear any of Siwon’s rants, today ? How many times did he refer to me as a ‘thing’”, asked Changmin

 

_I considered you to be a friend and you stole the only thing I had ever wanted in my life_

 

Yunho cringed as he remembered Siwon’s words. Yunho had a hard time holding himself back from putting his fist through Siwon’s face when he was talking to Changmin.

 

“He didn’t want to marry me, he wanted to own me. And, that was the case for every one of the marriage proposals that came for me”, said Changmin bluntly.

 

“That is why for the longest time I struggled with believing in the credibility of your proposal, it was too good to be true. To go through a marriage for gain and still manage to preserve my dignity and freedom is quite unbelievable”, added Changmin, his voice shaking a bit. Yunho reached out to place his hand on Changmin’s shoulder.

 

Changmin just shrugged and said, “So, I should thank you for marrying me”

 

“If people can’t respect you, it’s their loss. You are an amazing person, Changmin”, insisted Yunho, squeezing Changmin’s shoulder. Changmin gave him a tight smile in return.

 

“Regardless of the reason, I consider myself lucky to have become your husband”, confessed Yunho. Changmin turned to look at him, like he was trying to understand him.

 

After a while, Changmin asked, “Why are you like this”

 

“Like what”, asked Yunho confused.

 

“Clueless”, said Changmin before turning to work on his food. What he really meant to say, was why was Yunho so direct and honest! Changmin didn’t know how to deal with it.

 

* * *

 

Yunho and Changmin were on their bed. Changmin was taking another look at the outline of the first draft that he had written up for his new series. Changmin glanced at Yunho, he had a book in his hands but he looked like he was miles away.

 

“Your book is upside down and you have been staring at it for a while now”, said Changmin to get Yunho’s attention. Yunho snapped out of his thoughts and tried to immediately right his book.

 

“Something wrong”, asked Changmin.

 

“I have been thinking over some things that have happened”, replied Yunho uncharacteristically, cryptic.

 

“Is it about work”, asked Changmin

 

“It’s about us, actually”, said Yunho turning towards Changmin.

 

“Oh”, Changmin hoped that it came out nonchalant because he truly was getting worried from the inside.

 

“I was thinking about how unfair it was that you were forced into talking about your past due to circumstances when I have never talked to you about mine”, said Yunho.

 

“You don’t have to just because I told you everything about myself. You don’t owe me anything, really”, said Changmin taking his glasses off.

 

“What if I want to”, asked Yunho. Changmin ran his hand across his hair and sighed.

 

“Is it about Hojun”, he asked, finally.

 

Yunho looked quite taken aback, “How do you...”

 

“You once called out his name in your sleep”, Changmin immediately cut in to explain.

 

“Back when we were in Japan. You were drunk and you had to crash in my suite for the night”, added Changmin when Yunho still looked clueless.

 

“I also came across some of your albums with him when I was cleaning around, I wasn’t snooping”, said Changmin, wanting put everything out there.

 

“Of course, not”, said Yunho calmly. Changmin was a little surprised that Yunho didn’t make  a big deal about it.

 

“I... just didn’t know how to even begin to talk about him”, struggled Yunho.

 

“And now..”, prompted Changmin.

 

“I feel like I should have said something earlier”, said Yunho looking into Changmin’s eyes.

 

Changmin wanted to ask why but he didn’t want to distract Yunho from saying what he wanted to. So, he figured his questions could wait.

 

“Hojun Hyung, he is my first love”, said Yunho looking away from Changmin.

 

Changmin tried not to put emphasis on the present tense.

 

“He was there for me at a very low point in my life. I was struggling to balance my school work and my inventions. If you think I am terrible at taking care of myself now then I was ten times worse back then. Too proud, much like you, to ask for help”, said Yunho, an unbidden smile on his face. Changmin didn’t know what to make of that.

 

“He took care of me, selflessly. He cut through all my bullshit and called me out on things. It was impossible not to fall for him”, said Yunho.

 

“I was so sure I would marry him, make a family with him, give him all the happiness in this world. But...”, trailed off Yunho.

 

Changmin moved to put his hand over Yunho’s hand as a gesture of support

 

“He had to go out of country to follow his passion and dream. I was so gone on him, I had decided to leave everything here and follow him and try to get a job there. But, he couldn’t live with me making a big sacrifice for us. So, he asked me to stay here and pursue my dreams while he did the same” said Yunho looking miles away. Changmin could see the sadness in his eyes. It was hard to imagine that someone had the strength to say no to Yunho’s affections.

 

“Did you try to keep in contact”, asked Changmin after a while of silence.

 

“I wanted to but he said that it would end up being too painful for both of us. I was really desperate to save any scraps of our relationship”, admitted Yunho.

 

Do you still love him, the question was on the tip of Changmin’s tongue but it was very evident that Yunho still deeply cared about Hojun so it wasn’t really necessary.

 

“Please say something”, he heard Yunho say. Changmin had many things to say but he was too careful with them. Yunho had taken a big step towards opening up about his past to him, he didn’t want to end up saying something that would make them take two steps back. So, he took his time and carefully phrased his question.

 

“Did you never wish to find him and change his mind, all these years”, Changmin asked finally.

 

“I thought about it a lot. Even did it a couple of times, it just ended up with both of us being miserable. We were still dedicated to our dreams”, replied Yunho, honestly.

 

“If he were to come back someday, what would you do”, asked Changmin. He didn’t know why but he wanted to know the answer to this question.

 

Yunho looked away from Changmin and replied, “Honestly, I don’t know”

 

Changmin didn’t want to admit it but the answer did bother him at some level. Changmin took his hand back. Yunho looked at him inquisitively.

 

“You should try and get some sleep. You have an early flight to catch, tomorrow”, said Changmin before he switched off the lamp on his side.

 

* * *

 

Changmin looked at his phone about the 50th time in the day, hoping to see a text from Yunho but there was nothing, not a peep. Changmin increased the load on the elliptical to work his frustration out. So much for the Alpha claiming to miss him when he couldn’t even manage to send him a single text, the whole day. It’s not like Changmin was missing him or something but he was simply calling Yunho out on his bs.

 

Changmin decided to forget about it until he came out of shower. It was already 9:30 pm, Yunho should have at least made it back to his room. Changmin hovered over Yunho’s number but his pride won’t let him press the ‘call’ button.

 

Fuck, it. He would call Yunho, give him a piece of his mind and hang up. He called Yunho. It took a while, but Yunho did pick up.

 

“Changmin-ah”, Yunho said excited, he was wearing a bathrobe, his hair still wet. He probably just came out of shower, too

 

“You are alive, I see”, said Changmin.

 

“It’s so good to see you”, said Yunho, his smile not dimming even a bit with Changmin’s cutting words. Yunho was so happy that Changmin had contacted him especially how their last conversation had ended.

 

“You saw me yesterday”, said Changmin, rolling his eyes at Yunho’s puppy like excitement.

 

“I still missed you”, said Yunho honestly.

 

“Sure, then why did you not call”, shot back Changmin.

 

“Ahh... you know, I...”, trailed off Yunho, scratching his head, his biggest giveaway.

 

“You forgot, didn’t you”, asked Changmin, getting pissed.

 

“It’s not like that”, Yunho tried to explain it away. He had been in meetings the whole day and had just returned. But he was so tired, he had just wanted to eat and drift off to sleep while watching TV, his mind was hardly working.

 

“You are a horrible liar so don’t even try to come up with an excuse”, Changmin cut him off.

 

“Fine, maybe I forgot. But I am so happy that you called me, instead. You missed me, didn’t you”, pressed on Yunho.

 

Changmin scoffed at him and said, “I was checking if you were alive. My work is done now”

 

Yunho protested as Changmin was about to disconnect.

 

“Min-ah”, Yunho whined.

 

“What”, asked Changmin, irritated.

 

“I was going to eat, could you stay on phone ? I hate eating alone”, asked Yunho. It would serve Yunho right if Changmin hung up on him. But damn Yunho and his puppy eyes, he should have developed an immunity to it by now.

 

“Fine. I am not going to just watch you eat, let me bring in my dinner too”, said Changmin finally relenting.

 

* * *

 

Yunho got out of the shower in a hurry. Him and Changmin had been eating dinner over facetime every night, since he has been in Japan. That was the brightest spot of his whole day.

Today, though he was running a bit late. It was 9:40 pm already. He checked his phone but there were no calls from Changmin. Yunho wondered if Changmin was running late, too. He decided to give him some more time. He dried his hair and changed his clothes. He decided to go through some of his files.

 

After he was done with his files, he checked the time, it was 10:17 pm. It was far too late. Yunho wasted no time in calling Changmin. The call went on for some time, Yunho was getting increasingly worried. But thankfully, Changmin did pick it up.

 

As soon as Changmin appeared on the screen, Yunho knew something was wrong.

“What’s wrong”, he asked.

 

“Nothing”, said Changmin with a shrug.

 

“You have been crying. You eyes are all red and swollen”, pointed out Yunho.

 

“But they are happy tears”, explained Changmin with a smile.

 

“What happened”, asked Yunho, still worried.

 

“I went to the doctor with my mother. They told me that she had recovered well enough to perform the surgery that would cure her”, said Changmin with a bright smile.

 

“That’s amazing”, exclaimed Yunho

 

Changmin nodded, his eyes welled up. Yunho’s heart just broke

 

“Min-ah, please don’t cry”, said Yunho.

 

“It’s not like I have control over my tear ducts”, said Changmin wiping tears away.

 

“Did you get something for dinner”, asked Yunho.

 

“No, I will eat something later”, said Changmin

 

“No, order in, we can eat together. It is a happy occasion”, insisted Yunho. And Yunho didn’t let them disconnect until Changmin’s tears were replaced by his glares.

 

* * *

 

Changmin unlocked the door, humming to himself. Yunho was finally coming back, Changmin had gone to get some groceries to get the ‘hot-pot’ going for them.

 

“Changmin”

 

Changmin noticed that Yunho’s mother was standing near the kitchen door.

 

“Ommo-nim”, said Changmin as he bowed to her with all the groceries still in his hand. Yunho’s mother acknowledged him with a nod.

 

“How have you been”, asked Changmin.

 

“Good”, came in the terse reply from her.

 

“I hope you don’t mind me using my key. Yunho gave them to me a long time ago but I don’t know if you are ok with me using it. After all, this is your house too, now”, she said

 

“No, please! This place is more yours than it can ever be mine”, insisted Changmin. Yunho’s mother just pursued her lips in response and coolly moved to the kitchen. Changmin followed her to the kitchen to put the groceries away.

 

“A lot has changed in here, since I last visited. It’s clean and ordered. None of the usual disarray that it always had”, remarked Yunho’s mother, casually.

 

“Yunho always says I clean too much”, said Changmin good-naturedly as he was putting away the groceries

 

“It’s even cleaner than my home and I am a homemaker”, remarked Yunho’s mother, it sounded a bit passive-aggressive. Changmin didn’t know how to react to that.

 

“The refrigerator is full, for once. And looks like the kitchen has been used”, Yunho’s mother carried on.

 

“I cook for us so...”, trailed off Changmin, not knowing what more to add to it.

 

“Hmm... quite unexpected”, remarked Yunho’s mother. Changmin could feel the awkwardness in the air. He was reminded of the last time they had talked it was even more awkward than today.

 

“Oh, is Changmin here”, Changmin was relieved when he heard Jihye’s voice.

 

“Jihye”, greeted Changmin as she popped into the kitchen.

 

“How are you”, asked Jihye with a bright smile that her and Yunho had in common.

 

“Great! Where is Eunchae”, asked Changmin in response.

 

“She is spending the day with her father. Pretty sure they will survive”, replied Jihye with a shrug.

 

“This is a nice surprise”, said Changmin.

 

“We are going to surprise, Oppa. I was putting up some decorations, do you want to help”, she asked. Changmin was only too happy to escape

 

“Oh, sure”, said Changmin. Yunho was truly loved, his sister and mother were going through so much trouble to welcome him only because he was out of state for a week.

 

“Did you get him a gift”, asked Jihye

 

“Gift ? Isn’t that a bit excessive ? He is just returning from Japan, he was gone for a week at best”, replied Changmin scrunching his nose.

 

“What do you think we are celebrating”, suddenly Yunho’s mother asked.

 

“Jihye”, warned her mother before Jihye could help Changmin out. Changmin wasn’t quite sure what was happening.

 

“Like a nice welcome back party”, guessed Changmin.

 

“Today is Yunho’s birthday”, replied Yunho’s mother, disapproval clear on her face.

 

“Ohhh”, is all Changmin could say in response. Jihye just stood there, her lips pursed.

 

“I am guessing he never told you”, remarked Yunho’s mother. Changmin just gave her a sheepish smile in response

 

“Did you never care to find out”, asked Yunho’s mother. Changmin had no answer to that. She then moved on to stir something that she had been boiling on the pot. Jihye elbowed Changmin discreetly and gestured that they should retreat quietly.

 

* * *

 

“What do you want”, Yunho’s mother asked as she saw Changmin hovering around her.

 

“We were done with the decorations so I came to see if you wanted some help in the kitchen”, replied Changmin.

 

“I am doing fine, thanks for asking”, she said dismissively.

 

“At least let me do the menial tasks. I can cut up the meat, clean the abalones, wash the dishes”, offered Changmin.

 

“Why”, Yunho’s mother asked.

 

“I am not sure...”, trailed off Changmin, unsure.

 

“Why is a Duke stooping so low”, she clarified.

 

“Working in my own kitchen isn’t stooping low, not for me”, answered Changmin honestly.

 

“If this is because you are feeling bad about not knowing about Yunho’s birthday, you don’t have to work so hard”, said Yunho’s mother.

 

“That is not why I am here.  I just hate feeling like I am not contributing something and let everyone else do the work”, said Changmin as he proceeded to clean the dirty dishes.

 

Yunho’s mother regarded him for a while before she turned to continue cooking.

 

* * *

 

Yunho admired the photo frame that Jihye had gifted him. It was still of him and Changmin when Yunho was saying his vows. Changmin looked so pretty with the baby breath, he wanted to collect all pictures of that. This frame was going directly to his desk at this office.

 

He had come back to a big surprise. His mother and his sister had decided to come in and celebrate his birthday. Last two years, he had been out of state so he hadn’t been able to celebrate his birthday with his family.

 

However, the nicest thing was that his mother somehow seem to be nicer to Changmin. She didn’t even make any remarks about him to Yunho. Maybe she was finally coming around.

 

“Changdollie”, he whined as Changmin entered their bedroom.

 

“What”, shot back Changmin, with his trademark hair flip that Yunho loved.

 

“Couldn’t help but notice, you never got me a present”, taunted Yunho.

 

“I didn’t even know it was your birthday, in the first place. You should have told me. Besides it’s not like you know when my birthday is”, argued Changmin

 

“18th Feb”, replied Yunho.

 

“Why do you know that”, asked Changmin, incredulity in his voice.

 

“Yah, I know everything about you. Also, don’t change the topic, I want a present”, insisted Yunho with a pout. Changmin needed to build up that immunity fast.

 

“Fine, I will open up one of the finest champagne in my collection for you”, decided Changmin.

 

“I don’t want that”, complained Yunho.

 

“Woah, now you want to decide what you get as a present”, argued Changmin

 

“Of course”, said Yunho.

 

“You are so demanding. Fine, what do you want”, said Changmin sitting down beside Yunho on their bed.

 

As soon as Yunho opened his mouth, Changmin interrupted, “It has to be reasonable”

 

“Alright. I am supposed to go to Spain in a couple of months and I was wondering if you could come with me. It’s a week of worth but I was thinking we could extend it up to three weeks and make a vacation out of it”, offered Changmin.

 

“Spain”, was the only thing Changmin could utter in response.

 

“We can even catch Real Madrid in action”, said Yunho excitedly.

 

“WHAT”, Changmin exclaimed. Yunho knew that Changmin had caught the bait.

 

“I know you will have to figure out your deadlines and work in general. So, let me know if can make it. If not, that’s fine too”, said Yunho before he planted a swift kiss on his lips and left.

 

Changmin was too stunned to even register anything. Spain, sounded so good. Wait, did Yunho just ask him out on their honeymoon ?


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Changmin in the middle of writing his new erotica series. It was a basic plot of a prince of a country under attack married to a powerful King to protect his kingdom through an alliance.

He had been inspired when he had seen Yunho in those ceremonial robes. Changmin was far too shy to ask Yunho to fuck him in the whole getup along with the coronal. Well, that was what this series was for.

 

_“Don’t pretend like you see me as anything more than someone who can provide you with heirs”, said the prince with disdain in his eyes. The King’s expression immediately shut off at that, it made the prince a bit nervous, he hoped it didn’t show._

_“Fine, take off your clothes and bend over”, commanded the King._

_“I beg your pardon”, exclaimed the Prince Maximus, appalled at the King’s sudden change in demeanour._ _  
_ _“I shall stake my claim this instant“, said Yunho grabbing him by his face._

 

Wait, he just typed Yunho. Changmin immediately deleted that and changed it to Eunho. God, he had to come up with better names than Eunho and Maximus.

 

Sudden noise, snapped him out of thoughts. Changmin glanced at the door, it sounded like someone was struggling to unlock the door. Changmin was alarmed or a bit. It was impossible for anyone other than Yunho and his family to get past the gate because they were the only people who knew the code. So, they was no way someone else could have entered.

 

Changmin stood up and walked carefully towards the door and looked through the peephole. Thankfully, it was Yunho. Why the hell was he struggling to unlock it ? Changmin unlocked the door from his side and opened it.

“What...”, asked Changmin confused. Yunho looked extremely confused.

 

“Oh... Changdola! The key.... it's not working”, he said with a pout and raised the key to Changmin’s eye level.

 

“They are your car keys”, said Changmin trying not to roll his eyes.

 

“Ohhh”, exclaimed Yunho like he had made a startling discovery.

 

The Alpha was so out of it. Earlier Heechul and Donghae had whisked Yunho away for a real party for his birthday. Changmin had thankfully been able beg off of it because he had work to catch up on. Changmin hated going to clubs. Yunho though, he liked to party. And now he was standing here trying to open the door with his car keys. Changmin hoped that either Heechul or Donghae had the sense to not let Yunho drive in this state.

 

“No wonder, it won't fit. I thought I couldn't open the door coz I was drunk or something”, reasoned Yunho.

 

“You are drunk”, stated Changmin simply.  Yunho started laughing at that like that was the funniest joke he had heard. It was Yunho’s unique laugh that made Changmin’s heart skip a beat so he couldn’t get irritated at that.

“Get in, please”, asked Changmin moving away to make way for Yunho. After Yunho stepped in, Changmin moved to lock the door. Once he was done, he turned to Yunho. Yunho was struggling his way through taking off his shoes and socks. Changmin moved to help him but Yunho waved him off.

 

“See, I take off my shoes every time”, said Yunho triumphantly after removing his socks. Changmin would be lying if he said that his heart didn’t melt a bit at that. Yunho then clumsily made his way to their bedroom. Changmin couldn’t resist himself from neatly placing Yunho’s shoes on the shoe stand. Yunho already knew about his OCD, no point trying to hide it.

 

Changmin then made his way to their bedroom where Yunho was lying supine on their bed with his clothes still on. When he noticed Changmin, he smiled at him goofily.

 

“Were you waiting up for me”, Yunho asked.

 

“No. I was busy doing some work”, replied Changmin. He wasn’t waiting up for Yunho or anything, he was just sitting by the door rather than his office because he wanted a change of surroundings. Nothing more.

 

“You shouldn't wait up for me. You need sleep or your eyes will get swollen”, said Yunho like Changmin hadn’t spoken at all. Changmin couldn’t help but touch the skin around his eyes consciously at that statement. He always had puffy eyes but Yunho always kept commenting on them, did he need to invest in an eye-pack?

 

“They would still look pretty, though”, added Yunho enthusiastically. Changmin scoffed, why was he taking the rambling of a drunk man seriously.

 

“Alright, time for bed”, he told Yunho.

 

“Oh ok”, said Yunho excited as he sat up on the bed far more quickly than a drunk person should. Yunho proceeded to eagerly take his jeans off and then hurriedly threw off his tee-shirt. To think somebody could be so excited to get ready for bed, only Yunho!

 

Yunho turned to Changmin and pouted. “Why aren't you taking your clothes off”, asked Yunho disappointed.

 

“What”, exclaimed Changmin.

 

“You said you wanted to have sex”, said Yunho baffled.

 

“I said time for bed. How...”, Changmin trailed off trying to figure out how Yunho could have mistaken that.

 

“Isn't that the same thing”, asked Yunho looking adorably confused.

 

“No, that means you are drunk, pass out already”, said Changmin pulling the covers over Yunho.

 

“Changdol, come lie down with me”, said Yunho patting the space beside him.

 

“Is that an order”, retorted Changmin before turning away from Yunho. Suddenly he felt a grip on his wrist. Changmin turned to look at Yunho. He was looked smitten.

 

“Changmin-ah”, he called out softly and then opened his other arms wide and beckoned to him to a child-like smile.

 

“Come here”, he said. This man was 30 years old, he had no business being so cute. Changmin was left with no choice but to comply.

 

“Just a month of being a Duke and you are already ordering me around”, muttered Changmin as he made himself comfortable on the Alpha’s pillowy chest. He immediately felt Yunho tug on the ends of his hair.

 

Changmin raised himself off of Yunho and asked him confused, “What”

 

“Just wanted to see your face, some more”, replied Yunho gazing softly into his eyes.

 

“You are so sappy when you are drunk”, said Changmin hitting Yunho lightly on his chest out of embarrassed. He went back to burying his face into the Alpha’s chest once again.

 

“It’s such a pretty face but you keep hiding it”, Changmin could feel the vibrations as Yunho spoke. Changmin didn’t respond to it. A little time passed in silence. Changmin figured that Yunho must have passed out.

 

“I wonder if our kids will have your eyes”, Yunho wondered surprising Changmin. Changmin went stiff hearing Yunho’s words.

 

“If they will be shy like you and hide behind our legs or if they will keep on chattering like me”, continued Yunho.

 

“They...”, was the only thing Changmin could utter in response as he sat up straight on the bed.

“A girl and a boy”, answered Yunho with a smile not noticing the panic in Changmin’s voice.

 

“Or whatever. All kids are precious”, added Yunho as he closed his eyes, ready to drift into dreamland.

 

Changmin turned away from Yunho, he couldn’t bear to face him.

 

“Changmin is such a beautiful name. I want the kids to have ‘Min’ in their names”, he heard Yunho mumble.

 

At that point, Changmin felt the need to physically remove himself from the room, he felt overwhelmed under the weight of Yunho’s dreams. He got up from the bed.

 

Yunho must have felt him leaving the bed so he muttered, “Are you going to kill the lights? Good, I am kind of tired”

 

After that Yunho drifted off to sleep. Changmin quickly switched off the lights in the room and walked out to the living room. He was freaking out. Yunho had never mentioned about kids. He did mention he wanted to have a big family back when he was dating Hojun but this was different. Yunho talked about having kids with Changmin.

 

It’s not like he had doubts in Yunho’s intentions. Right from the beginning, Yunho had always maintained that it would be Changmin’s decision and didn’t plan on removing contraceptive anytime soon. Then what could his drunken ramblings, mean ? Did he expect to have children with him at some point in the future. Changmin certainly hadn’t given him any reason to believe so. He had always been very clear about it.

 

Changmin’s eyes fell on Yunho’s precious ‘Bambi’. Changmin had found the missing eye in one of the drawers and used a glue-gun to fix Bambi, he figured it would make Yunho happy. The Alpha found joy in the smallest of things.

 

But now all he could think of was how Yunho referred to Bambi as their daughter. Changmin could deduce that Yunho was suppressing his desire of becoming a father and at some level he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. But as soon as the slight guilt hit him, he felt angry at himself. Yunho chose to marry him knowing his stance on having kids, there should be no reason he should be feeling guilty.

 

* * *

 

 

Yunho was busy going through a proposal when there was a slight knock on the door.

 

Yunho’s assistant slightly opened the door and asked, “Sir”

 

“Yes”, responded Yunho absently.

“I wanted to confirm your bookings for the Spain trip”, she said.

 

That got Yunho’s full attention as he paused in middle of turning a page.

 

“Ohh”, is all he could say. He had forgotten about the trip. He had been busy as usual at work but things were a bit unsettling at home too. Changmin had grown a bit distant. He was mostly in his office or visiting his mother. Yunho attributed that to Changmin’s mother’s surgery date coming closer. He must be anxious. Yunho would have to talk to him now that his mother’s surgery had went off without a hitch and she was going to be discharged, tomorrow.

 

“It would still be a round-trip for two, right”, his assistant asked him.

 

Back when the whole trip was to be booked, Yunho was in Japan and was dearly missing Changmin so he had asked two tickets to be booked in advance. He was sure that he could get Changmin to come with him. He could clearly see that Changmin was missing him too because it wasn’t like the Omega to make long phone calls. Yet, he was doing it.

 

But now, he wasn’t so sure if Changmin would come with him. Yunho hoped that whatever was happening with Changmin was solely related to his mother’s health because he couldn’t think of a single thing that he could have done to piss him off.

 

“Sir”, his assistant’s voice interrupted his train of thoughts. His assistant looked confused, Yunho hadn’t spoken for a while.

 

“Yes”, replied Yunho. He could always cancel the extra ticket later if Changmin said no to him.

 

* * *

 

“Min-ah, I am getting discharged tomorrow. You don’t have to stay. You have been here for 3 days now”, said Changmin’s mother.

 

“What’s one more night”, said Changmin with a shrug as he stretched himself out the couch in the hospital room.

 

“I know you haven’t been able to sleep on that couch”, said his mother, concerned.

 

“You are not getting rid of me”, said Changmin turning on his IPad.

 

“Yunho must be missing you”, wondered his mother. Changmin stiffened at that. He has been avoiding Yunho since Yunho had rambled about kids while he was drunk. Changmin hasn’t figured out what to do with that information. He did want to hash the issue out with Yunho again but Yunho had no recollection of whatever he had said to Changmin. Changmin didn’t know why but that had pissed him off even more.

 

It pained him to remember Yunho’s face when Changmin had told him that he had already taken his dinner and that Yunho would have to eat dinner by himself. It had felt like kicking a puppy. So yeah, Changmin has gotten himself into a shitty situation and no idea how to get out of it.

“It’s your birthday, today. It pains me to see you sit here and play nurse when I am in a hospital with actual nurses monitoring me”, said his mother breaking the silence.

 

“It’s not like I had plans”, waved off Changmin casually.

 

“Ommo-nim”, a voice interrupted them. Changmin knew the voice all too well. Yunho has been visiting them every single day. Changmin’s mother lit up seeing him.

 

“Did you come here directly from office”, she asked taking a note of Yunho’s suit.

 

“I got out late so I didn’t get time to change”, said Yunho putting the bouquet in the vase. They were carnations, Changmin knew it was more for him than his mother. Poor Yunho, he has been confused about why Changmin was avoiding him.

 

“Did you eat something”, asked Changmin knowing fully well that Yunho had a bad habit of skipping meals when left to his own devices.

 

“I had lunch”, Yunho replied meekly.

 

“It’s 9:15 pm now”, pointed out Changmin. That was probably at least a good 8 hours since lunch and the Alpha definitely hasn’t had anything to eat.

 

“It was a hearty lunch. Infact, I think I am still a little full”, defended Yunho patting his belly a bit. Yunho was such a shitty liar. But before Changmin could go off on Yunho his mother spoke.

 

“Yunho, can you take him home? He’s been here, glaring at everyone 3 days straight. He scared off a nurse just a while ago”, accused his mother.

 

“How many stabs was it going to take him to finally get the syringe in the right place”, exclaimed Changmin.

 

“He must be new and nervous”, defended his mother.

 

“I don’t care, he stabbed you 3 times in the wrong place to get an IV in”, shot back Changmin in anger.

 

“See, he has been pissy and constantly nagging me for 3 days continuously”, his mother said turning to Yunho.

 

“Sorry if my worrying comes across as nagging to you”, shot back Changmin

 

“I think you both need a break”, said Yunho before they could fully breakout into an argument. Changmin just buried his face in his IPad

 

“Changmin”, called out Yunho. Changmin didn’t look up from his IPad.

 

“I’ll take you home and then drop you off early so you can be here for the discharge”, said Yunho finally after he failed to get the Omega’s attention.

 

“Will you”, asked his mother gratefully.

 

“Whatever, since I am not needed here”, said Changmin before he tossed the IPad in his backpack and walked off the room.

 

“I think he missed you too, that’s why he is so grumpy”, reasoned his mother kindly. Yunho knew that wasn’t the case.

 

* * *

 

“You think I nag too much”, asked Changmin suddenly while they were waiting out the red light. Yunho was surprised as the whole drive had been very quiet.

 

“I think you nag the appropriate amount. I honestly find it a bit addictive”, said Yunho honestly.

 

“My nagging”, asked Changmin skeptically.

 

“Yeah. The week I was in Japan, when I dropped the wet towel on the bed I was really disappointed that you weren’t there say something”, replied Yunho.

 

“Are making fun of me”, said Changmin frowning at the Alpha.

 

“No, I genuinely missed you”, said Yunho earnestly. Changmin knew then that Yunho wasn’t just referring to that one week in Japan, he was referring to the last few weeks that Changmin had been avoiding him. It made Changmin feel terrible.

 

“Your mom was just picking a fight to make you leave, you know”, said Yunho after a while.

 

“I know”. said Changmin, it was very evident what his mother was trying to do.

 

“She’ll be fine, you know. She is your mother, after all”, said Yunho before the light turned green.

 

“I know”, repeated Changmin looking at Yunho.

 

* * *

 

“Wow, you must be really hungry”, remarked Yunho as Changmin started on the last piece of his portion of fried chicken. Changmin had literally torn through his whole portion in just a few minutes.

 

“The cafeteria food is so bland. It can kill even my appetite”, said Changmin.

 

“That’s saying something”, remarked Yunho. Changmin kicked him lightly under the table in response. Yunho shook his head and concentrated on his food.

 

“You are mixing rice with the yangnyeom sauce”, asked Changmin, surprised.

 

“Yeah and it’s so delicious. I call it Yunho style rice”, said Yunho, proudly.

 

“Here”, he said before he thrust a spoonful of rice towards Changmin’s mouth. Changmin gave him a very judgemental look before he used his own spoon to scoop some of his rice to taste.

 

“Yah, why do you have issues with sharing a spoon and absolutely no issues while kissing”, exclaimed Yunho.

 

“Don’t ask meaningless questions”, replied Changmin while he took more rice from Yunho’s plate.

 

“You are stealing my food”, accused Yunho.

 

“Aren’t you being petty, today”, remarked Changmin before he proceeded to chew on the rice.

 

“Fine, I can be romantic instead”, said Yunho with a smirk. Yunho got up from his chair and dimmed the lights.

 

“Yah”, Changmin said when Yunho went into the kitchen. What in the world was happening ?

 

After a few moments, Yunho came out of the kitchen with a cake with candles on it.

 

“Happy Birthday, Changdol-ah”, Yunho said with an excited smile. Changmin was quite speechless, he didn’t know what to say.

 

“Make a wish”, said Yunho placing the cake on the table. Changmin closed his eyes but he didn’t have anything to wish for himself. He just wanted his family and friends to be happy. He wanted to Yunho to be happy. As he puckered his lips to blow out the candles, he felt Yunho’s lips against his. Changmin opened his eyes, surprised. Yunho pulled back and looked at him trying to search for something in his eyes. Changmin knew Yunho was trying to figure out what had upset Changmin and if they were ok. And honestly right now, Changmin couldn’t even remember why he had held on to his anger.

 

Changmin surged ahead and kissed Yunho. Yunho kissed back like a starved man. Changmin met Yunho’s tongue with his own in a sensual caress. Changmin wanted Yunho, right then but he was too tired to do anything about it. All too soon, Yunho pulled back and blew out the candles.

 

Yunho then bent and put his arms around Changmin’s back and the back of his knees and lifted him. Changmin immediately put his arms around Yunho’s neck to brace himself.

 

“You doing ok”, asked Changmin mockingly as he felt Yunho’s arms straining under his weight.

 

“This is nothing. I am strong”, replied Yunho with a smug smile. Once they reached their destination, Yunho gently lowered Changmin on to the bed.

 

Changmin closed his eyes when Yunho bent down to kiss him. But to his surprise, Yunho planted a soft kiss between his brows.

“I know you are tired. Rest up”, Yunho said after he pulled back. Yunho left him on the bed, hopefully to clean up the table. Changmin wondered if this could be considered as a brush off from Yunho but tiredness of past couple of days caught up to him and he drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

Yunho entered his home after a long day at work. He could hear Changmin on the phone.

 

“Don’t do anything rash, Taemin-ah”, he heard. Yunho frowned at Changmin’s worried tone.

 

“The last thing you want to do is talk to his father”, Changmin said over the phone as he walked into the living room, looking vexed. Yunho took his shoes off in the meantime.

 

“Just be there for him”, said Changmin finally before he disconnected the call.

 

Yunho put away his briefcase and asked, “What is it”

 

“Jongin got fired from his job”, replied Changmin plonking down on the couch.

 

“But his father owns the company...”, asked Yunho perplexed.

 

“His father fired him”, said Changmin. Yunho had no idea how that could have happened. As far as he knew Jongin, he was very committed to his job and one of the rare heirs who was pretty down to earth.

“They had a falling out. His father didn’t approve of him dating Taemin”, expanded Changmin.

 

“Jongin is dating Taemin”, exclaimed Yunho.

 

“I thought that was fairly obvious. Why do you think he comes over and helps me”, asked Changmin surprised by Yunho’s reaction.

 

“I don’t know I thought he had a crush on you or something”, answered Yunho with a shrug.

 

“What”, exclaimed Changmin at the ridiculous notion! Just what goes on in the Alpha’s mind ?

 

“It is an easy mistake to make”, defended Yunho.

 

“Is that why you were behaving weirdly with him”, shot back Changmin, a lot of things were beginning to make sense.

 

“I wasn’t jealous if that’s what you are indicating”, shot back Yunho defensively.

 

“No, I never assumed that. You wouldn’t care”, said Changmin before he got up and walked away from the living room, indicating the end of discussion. Yunho felt like their relationship had somehow regressed.

 

* * *

 

“Duke Jung”, greeted Jongin’s father as Yunho entered his office.

 

“Please just call me Yunho”, said Yunho before both of them took a seat.

 

“I must confess I have been a little worried since I received your call. Is something not working out in regards to our ebooks and audiobooks venture”, Jongin’s father asked seeming a bit harried.

 

“Not, yet. But it soon might if Kim Jongin doesn’t return to his responsibilities”, said Yunho getting straight to the point.

 

Jongin’s father frowned at that statement and insisted, “We do have a capable replacement taking over the project”

 

“Sadly, there isn’t time to retrain a replacement to pick up from where Jongin left”, said Yunho with air of finality.

 

“Jongin brought in some solid contacts to be narrators for the audiobook. All of them signed on with immense faith in Jongin. It was really his vision. Now that he isn’t here, there is no lead for this project. The narrators are clueless about how the end product should sound like, they are looking for directions and without Jongin, it’s all a chaos”, expanded Yunho.

 

Jongin’s father looked cornered. This was the time to hammer the point home.

 

“We pitched in for the recording studio but if the end product is something that I don’t feel is up to the par, I will have to reconsider the deal”, warned Yunho.

 

* * *

 

“Will Yunho be joining us”, asked Changmin’s mother taking a sip of her tea.

 

“Yes, he will be late, though. He had some last minute meeting come up”, replied Changmin petting Mangdoongie on her head **.**

 

Changmin’s mother had been discharged a week ago. As soon as she felt better, she wanted to host a dinner gathering for him and Yunho. Changmin had gone over earlier to help his mother out.

 

“Of course, he is a busy man, what were you thinking, trying to get him to attend silly tea-parties like this”, remarked his father snidely.

 

“Family dinner after Mom’s recovery must feel like a silly tea-party to you but it does mean something to me and Yunho”, shot back Changmin.

 

He was losing his patience with his father, each day. Changmin got married to fix his mess and he still disapproved of him. Changmin was now starting to understand that this issue would not have been fixed even if he had succumbed under pressure and joined the family business in the first place. His father would still have found something to the put the blame on him. He has become nothing but an emotional punching-bag to the man.

 

“Ahh, the hypocrisy”, remarked his father with a dismissive huff.

 

“Let’s not fight, today”, Changmin’s mother tried to step in.

 

“I am just telling the truth. You are on your high horse thinking you and your husband have saved the day. You feel like you cleaned up your old man’s mess when the truth is that your stubbornness could very easily have cost your mother her life”, accused Changmin’s father.

 

“It’s my fault, now”, retorted Changmin at the ridiculous notion.

 

“Why do you think she was hiding her illness in the first place”, shot back his father with disdain.

 

Changmin had no response to that. It was true that his mother felt the need to hide her condition because of him. She had her own reasons but it still made Changmin feel like crap.

 

“Nice to know, you can come here and act all high and mighty when you are the sole reason why I could have lost my wife”, added Changmin’s father with derision.

 

Changmin just wanted to get away. It wasn’t like he wasn’t used to his father’s harsh words. But this. This hurt him, bad! So, he simply walked away before he could let his emotions show on his face.

 

“Changmin”, he heard his mother call after him.

 

Mangdoongie tried to follow him but Changmin’s mother lifted him off the ground. She knew Changmin wanted to be alone, right now.

 

* * *

 

Yunho got out of his car. He checked the time on his phone, it was 8:30 pm. It was a little later than he had planned on arriving but talking to Jongin’s father was important. He knew if he raised the issue later, Jongin’s father would keep endorsing Jongin’s replacement rather than reconsider Jongin’s firing.

 

Yunho hoped that the old man did come to his senses and give Jongin his job back. Yunho would love to see the smile on Changmin’s face when that happened because lately there had been far too less reasons for the Omega to smile.

 

As Yunho entered Changmin’s parent home, he was greeted by their housekeeper. He led Yunho to the living room, surprisingly no one was there. Yunho heard and excited bark before he noticed Mangdonngie making her way to him.

 

Yunho immediately bent down and lifted her in his arms. She started pawing at his face.

 

“Where did your Dad go”, he asked petting Mangdoongie.

 

“Ahh... Yunho”, exclaimed Changmin’s mother as she entered the living room. She looked a lot healthier and didn’t seem to be using her walking stick. Yunho was really happy for her. Yunho immediately bowed to greet her.

 

“Sorry, I am the late. The meeting ran longer than I had expected”, said Yunho as he straightened back up.

 

“It's no problem, food can always be reheated”, waved of Changmin’s mother with a kind smile.

 

“Thank you”, responded Yunho. Yunho looked in the direction of the kitchen hoping that Changmin would pop out any moment now and look disapprovingly at his slightly loosened tie. Yunho might have purposefully done that hoping that Changmin would fix it with his own hands.

 

“Looking for Changmin”, asked Changmin’s mother, Yunho was far too obvious.

 

“No, I was just curious”, defended Yunho.

 

Changmin’s mother shook his head at Yunho’s denial and said, “He is at the terrace”

 

“Oh”, said Yunho putting Mangdoongie down.

 

“He probably wants to be left alone, for now”, warned Changmin’s mother, a little concerned.

 

That did not sound good. Yunho was willing to bet that it had something to do with Changmin’s father. Yunho abhorred the way he treated Changmin but he knew Changmin would bite his head off if he interfered. So, he kept his mouth shut but he fucking hated it!

 

“Did something happen”, asked Yunho.

 

“His father, he said some hurtful things. I couldn't stop him”, she replied regretfully.

 

Of course, it was his father. It was hard to see how such a bitter man could have a kind son like Changmin. He knew he should give Changmin some space to deal with it on his own. But, just the thought of leaving Changmin to drown in his own misery just did not sit well with him.

 

“I am sorry but I need to talk to him”, said Yunho before he made his way to the terrace. The terrace was well lit so he had no trouble locating Changmin. The Omega’s back was turned to him as he was leaning on the railing.

 

“Changdola”, Yunho called out softly so as not to spook his husband. Yunho could make out that Changmin hurriedly tried to wipe his face with his sleeves as soon as he heard Yunho.

 

Yunho came up to him and said, “Your mother, she told me....”

 

Yunho trailed off when Changmin turned to face him. Changmin’s eyes were red, Yunho could still make out the tear tracks. It just broke his heart.

 

“It's nothing new, my dad is always saying shit. I should have developed a thick skin by now”, waved off Changmin, his voice a bit shaky.

 

“Min-ah. I don't know what he said but you should know that none of it is true”, said Yunho earnestly.

 

“No. This time he is right”, said Changmin, his eyes welling up with tears as he spoke.

 

“I am to be blamed for my mother's worsening condition”, reiterated Changmin, this time a big fat drop of tear rolled down from his left eye.

 

“She was sick, I doubt you could have done anything about that”, reasoned Yunho.

 

“She hid her illness from us just so that I wouldn't feel pressured to marry someone else”, stated Changmin, now more tears escaping from his eyes. Yunho felt helpless, he wanted to stop those tears but there wasn’t anything he could do.

 

“And it's true, if Dad wouldn't have accidentally come across her results, she would have died without anyone of us ever knowing about it”, said Changmin before he folded his mouth in a thin line trying not to break down.

 

“Changmin-ah”, said Yunho before he wiped away Changmin’s tears. But as soon as he wiped them, fresh tears would appear. It was also a mark of how defeated Changmin felt that he didn’t try to push away Yunho from wiping his tears, usually his pride wouldn’t let him take any consolation from anyone.

 

“She loves you. She did what she did out of love. Love defies logic, she was probably thinking about protecting you and nothing else”, Yunho said, wiping away the fresh tears too, he was determined not to lose to them.

 

Changmin turned away from him and scoffed in derision.

 

“Love, affection, care, it’s all wasted on someone like me”, he said staring off to the distance. Those words enraged Yunho. How could Changmin possibly decide if he was worthy of receiving other people’s love or not!

 

“That's not true. I love you, are you going to tell me that it's a waste, too? Even if you tell me that, you think I will stop loving you?”, argued Yunho fervently.

 

Changmin immediately turned to look at him with his eyes widened in shock. It took a moment but Yunho realized what had just slipped out of his mouth.

 

Yunho could see that Changmin was panicking, his breathing had increased his shoulders were taut with tension. But above all Changmin’s eyes said it all, he was hoping that Yunho would somehow take it back. But Yunho just couldn’t. Hell, he didn’t want to take it back because deep down he had known for a long time. He had fallen for his Changdollie.

 

“Min-ah”, Changmin’s mother voice broke through the tension. Changmin immediately turned in the direction of his mother.

 

“Dinner has been served. Min-ah are you feeling up to it”, she asked concerned.

 

Changmin simply nodded and ran off from there as if he was on fire. Changmin’s mother just looked at Yunho, confused by the whole thing.

 

* * *

 

Heechul was enjoying Chami-sensei’s latest edition when he heard a knock on his door. He glanced at this phone, it was 10:00 pm. He definitely had no plans, it was late for anyone to visit him anyway. Heechul checked through the peephole. It was Yunho. Strange, he never just showed up out of blue like this.

 

Heechul opened the door and remarked, “A bit too late, you sure your hubby dearest wouldn't mind”

 

“I told Changmin that I loved him”, uttered Yunho.

 

Oh, hell no!

 

* * *

 

After a few gulps of soju, Heechul finally found his voice.

 

“You have literally done this ‘love’ thing multiple times, one would think you would have more sense in terms of the right time to confess your feelings. You just dropped the L bomb on him when the poor kid was crying over his mother”, chided Heechul.

 

“It's not like I planned it or something. He was crying and putting himself down, it just came out of my mouth. I didn't realize what I had said until he looked at me shocked”, countered Yunho.

 

“So, it was spur of the moment thing”, asked Heechul, trying to understand. Yunho quietly nodded in response.

 

Heechul sighed and took another shot.

 

“You know you could always take it back. Just say you got emotional and words just came out, you didn't really mean it”, he suggested.

 

“I can't”, Yunho was quick to say.

 

“Sure you can. People go back on their word all the time that's why you have law in the first place”, countered Heechul.

 

“You think taking it back wasn't the first thing that I thought of? But I realized that it would be a lie and Changmin didn't deserve that”, defended Yunho.

 

“So, you love him”, asked Heechul, wanting to hear it from Yunho’s mouth.

 

“It's not like I sat around thinking and weighing everything and finally had an epiphany. Somewhere, deep down I knew I was starting to have feelings for him but I kept pushing it down because...”, Yunho trailed off. Admitting the whole thing was hard for him. But he needed to face himself before he could go back and face Changmin.

 

“I had my pride, I had told myself I wouldn't fall in love again and it was shameful that I couldn't achieve something that I had put my mind to. It shows that I am weak”, said Yunho with a defeated sigh.

 

“I will kick your ass. Calling yourself weak just because you fell in love with someone is the dumbest thing I have ever heard”, said Heechul surprising Yunho.

 

“That is the most bravest thing someone can do. Putting your heart and emotions at the mercy of someone else is fucking scary”, pressed on Heechul.

 

“It's not like I decided to do it, it just happened”, said Yunho with a shrug.

 

“Still admitting and sticking by it is commendable. You think I haven't vehemently denied feelings that have resembled love just because I was scared of pain and rejection”, countered Heechul fervently.

 

“Hyung”, exclaimed Yunho a bit concerned.

 

“Shut up, we are not talking about me”, Heechul shut him down. Heechul took another shot and sighed deeply.

 

“Yah, why did you have to fall for the one person who doesn't even have a single romantic bone in his body ? Why couldn't you fall for someone like Chami-sensei”, wondered Heechul.

 

“Where is this coming from”, asked Yunho, confused by the change of topic.

 

“I was just reading his book. You are like a real life shoujo manga protagonist and he is the pretty writer of stories like that, it would have been perfect! Besides, from his writing I would think he would have kept you immensely satisfied in bed, too”, said Heechul with a lascivious smirk on his face.

 

Yunho shook his head and dropped yet another bomb, “Hyung, Changmin and him are the same person”

 

“You shut your mouth before you slander Chami-sensei anymore”, shot back Heechul, quite enraged. Yunho just gave him a serious look in response.

 

“You are serious”, said Heechul, panic evident in his voice. Heechul immediately pulled his IPad and started furiously tapping on it.

 

“What are you doing”, asked Yunho confused by the sudden turn of events.

 

“Looking for that deleted post. Someone had illegally taken a picture of Chami-sensei during the fansign. It was taken down by the publishers before anyone could get to it”, muttered Heechul his tapping frequency increasing.

 

“How can you find something that was deleted”, asked Yunho.

 

“Nothing is ever truly deleted from the internet”, said Heechul rolling his eyes at him.

 

“Hyung, I am pretty sure that's illegal”, said Yunho.

 

Heechul scoffed at him and said, “Sue me, this is a matter of...”

 

Heechul paused suddenly. Yunho could guess what would have caused that, “You found it”

 

When Heechul didn’t move for a full minute, Yunho took the IPad from his hands and looked at the picture.

 

“He looks pretty in a blurred picture too”, remarked Yunho, zooming into his husband’s face some more.

 

Heechul then moved to grab the soju bottle and proceeded to down the whole thing. Yunho worried if he really did break Heechul.

 

* * *

 

Changmin glanced at the door one more time.  It was 9 am already, Yunho’s car wasn’t in the garage but his briefcase and gym bag was still here. The bed was still made. Changmin could only guess that Yunho didn’t come home last night. Changmin clicked his tongue in irritation. He shouldn’t have stayed back at his parent’s house last night.

 

But what Yunho said was so sudden, Changmin had no idea how to react to it. He felt like he was in twilight zone or something. How could Yunho fall in love with someone like him ? And what did Yunho actually mean when he said that he loved him ?

 

When Kyu had told him that he loved him, it meant that he wanted to build a life with him, get married, have kids, the whole nine yards. He is already married to Yunho, what did he want out of this relationship now that he had confessed ? Changmin just couldn’t face him so he had taken the cowardly route and spent the night at his parent’s house. Yunho had looked so devastated when Changmin had told him that he would stay there.

 

And now, Yunho was missing and Changmin wanted to kick himself for his stupidity. Changmin picked up his phone and was about to dial Yunho’s number when the door opened. Changmin breathed a sigh of relief as Yunho entered. He was still wearing last night’s clothes, he looked a little rumpled.

 

“You are back”, exclaimed Yunho when he noticed Changmin.

 

“So are you”, said Changmin getting up from the couch.

 

“I crashed at Heechul hyung’s place”, informed Yunho before he started taking his shoes off. Changmin stood in front of him and waited for him to finish.

 

“I should have comeback yesterday. I am usually not that much of a coward”, admitted Changmin looking down. Yunho stood there and patiently waited for Changmin to continue.

 

“Yesterday, when you said that you...”, Changmin trailed off not knowing how to bring up the issue.

 

“Loved you”, helpfully supplied Yunho making Changmin flustered.

 

“Did you mean that”, asked Changmin meeting Yunho’s eyes.

 

“Yes”, Yunho said with conviction. He had done a lot of thinking last night, he had no qualms in admitting that he had fallen in love yet again. But this time it was his husband.

 

Changmin turned away from Yunho and walked back to the couch. Yunho could see that Changmin was still uncomfortable with the whole thing, his shoulders were still tense. Yunho followed him to the couch.

 

“I ...”, Changmin made a start but the words wouldn’t come out. Yunho made himself comfortable on the couch and waited it out. No point hovering around Changmin and making him more uncomfortable.

 

“I want to give you a proper response but I don’t think I understand what you meant when you said that you loved me”, finally Changmin was able to knit together a proper sentence.  

 

“What I meant”, Yunho repeated the words confused.

 

“Like, what is it that you want from me”, Changmin re-phrased the question.

 

“Nothing”, shot back Yunho. Why on earth did Changmin think that Yunho would demand or want something from him? Did Changmin not hear him when he had confessed to him ?

 

“So you said that you love me and you don’t expect anything from me in return ? Should I just say thank you and move on”, shot back Changmin, irritated by Yunho’s lack of understanding.

 

“No, that’s...”, Yunho scratched his head in frustration.

 

“Why are you making it so complicated, you are a writer, you are supposed to be good at reading between the lines”, remarked Yunho getting up from the couch.

 

“Writing and comprehension are two different skills”, retorted Changmin.

 

“Fine, I will explain it in simple words”, relented Yunho. He took Changmin’s hands in his own. Changmin looked at him half scared and half confused.

 

“I want you to be you. And I want us to be together, not because of a piece of contract or the numerous profit and losses that come with it but by choice”, Yunho said looking into Changmin’s beautiful eyes, with every ounce of honesty he could muster.

 

“And that’s all”, asked Changmin, with a hint of wonderment and skepticism in his voice.

 

“Yeah”, assured Yunho squeezing Changmin’s hands.

 

Changmin pulled his hands back and asked, “What about kids”

 

Alright, that came out of nowhere, thought Yunho.

 

“What about them”, asked Yunho, a bit confused.

 

“Don’t tell me that you expect to be married to someone you love and not want children, out of it”, argued Changmin.

 

“Min-ah, things never go according to expectations. I married you with the expectation of never falling in love yet here we are”, countered Yunho.

 

“If you are hoping that things would change and I would change my stand on the matter, that will not happen. I have never had any desire of becoming a father. And yes I understand, I never wanted to get married too and yet I did. But fatherhood is just not for me”, warned Changmin.

 

Yunho was pissed off by Changmin’s words. It was as if the man wasn’t listening to Yunho at all.

 

“What part of ‘I want you to be you’, do you not understand”, shot back Yunho. Changmin looked at him lost and confused.

 

“I fell in love with you not some version of you that I molded in my head to suit my liking. Yes, I understand there are some things that we do not see eye to eye on, having children is one of them. It doesn’t change anything”, said Yunho with conviction.

 

“Doesn’t it ? Would it not make you fall out of love”, asked Changmin. Yunho could see the insecurity in his eyes. It did hurt Yunho but he couldn’t make Changmin’s inner insecurities that had been built up over the years, disappear with just an ‘I love you’. He would have to work on it. No, in fact both of them would have to work on it.

 

“Well, we will have a lifetime to find out, won’t we”, said Yunho finally and planted a soft kiss on Changmin’s lips before he walked off to their bedroom leaving a stunned Changmin behind.

 

* * *

 

Changmin was still thinking about Yunho’s words while he walked into the office building. The way Yunho had been so sure that they would have a lifetime together had left a deep impact on Changmin.

 

Changmin was still thinking about it in the elevator when the door opened on the 3rd floor and in walked Jongin.

 

“Jongin, you are back”, exclaimed Changmin once he noticed the Alpha

 

“You didn’t know”, asked Jongin confused. Changmin shook his head in response.

 

“My father, he asked me to come back”, explained Jongin. Thank goodness for miracles, Changmin thought.

 

“So, you two finally patched things up”, asked Changmin, excited by the new turn of events.

 

“Not quite. He asked me to take my job back, nothing more”, replied Jongin, his smile getting a little stiff.

 

“Well, that’s something. At least, he realized the amount of hard-work you had poured into this company”, encouraged Changmin.

 

“Not really. Yunho Hyung threatened to pull out of the digitization venture if he didn’t bring me back”, said Jongin.

 

“Yunho”, uttered Changmin, shocked.

 

“Yeah, I am guessing he didn’t tell you. I want to properly thank him”, said Jongin with a smile.

 

_“No, I never assumed that. You wouldn’t care”_

 

How could Changmin have been so wrong in reading a person ? He needed to go and see Yunho right now.

 

***

 

Yunho was in his office, looking at his files but he was distracted. He was still thinking about Changmin. Would he come around anytime soon ? Or was his confession going to drive a wedge between them ? No, he wouldn’t let that happen.

 

A knock on his door caught his attention him. Yunho asked the person behind the door to enter.

 

“Changmin-ah”, he exclaimed when a sheepish looking Changmin entered. That couldn’t be right, Changmin hardly ever visited him at work. Unless...

 

Yunho immediately pinched himself hard. Sure enough it hurt as Yunho flinched in pain.

 

“What are you doing”, asked Changmin rushing to Yunho, his eyes widened in horror at Yunho’s actions.

 

“I once had a dream like this so I was just pinching to make sure”, explained Yunho. Changmin looked at him like he had lost all his marbles. Yunho would never dare to reveal what happened in that particular dream.

 

Changmin’s gaze fell on the pictures on Yunho’s desk. There were the usual ones with his family and friends but what really attracted his attention was a photo-frame with their wedding picture. Changmin was surprised, it was quite unexpected.

 

“Not that I am not happy to see you but what brought you here”, asked Yunho trying to distract Changmin from the photo-frame because it was a bit embarrassing to have Changmin know about the photo-frame.

 

“Jongin, he told me you got him his job back”, said Changmin.

 

“Well, I wouldn’t give myself that much of a credit. Jongin was an important part in the functioning of the company. Somebody was going to make a fuss about it at some point, I just said it first”, waved off Yunho.

 

“Thank you, I know you didn’t have to”, said Changmin grateful.

 

“It wasn’t entirely selfless you know, I do want him to be leading the project. It’s always hard to find reliable people”, defended Yunho.

 

Yunho’s pursed lips and tense shoulders were giving him away. Changmin didn’t have to be a genius to realize that Yunho did it for him and was now far too embarrassed to admit it.

 

Changmin’s eyes fell on the Spain travel guide on Yunho’s table. Yunho noticed that and pushed it under some random file.

 

“I never got back to you about Spain, did I”, said Changmin with a regretful smile.

 

“You have been busy, besides it’s not important”, said Yunho with a shrug.

 

Changmin could see through the whole bullshit. He was finally starting to get a good read on the man.

 

“I would like to go there, with you”, said Changmin looking into Yunho’s eyes. The shock and the delight in Yunho’s face was worth everything. Changmin couldn’t help but smile at that.

 

Changmin’s eyes went uneven and Yunho knew deep down that he had fallen in love the first time he had first witnessed that uneven-eyed smile, many months ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I am late again. I vastly underestimated the time it would take me to write this chapter. Also due to some RL issues the next chapter (Chapter 16) will be updated on 18th May 2019 (05/18/19) rather than the regular schedule. And yes, the chapter count did go down. Hope this week leads into a nice weekend for everyone. A big thank you as always to everyone who is still with this WIP! Next chapter will be the El Sol *cough* I mean Spain honeymoon


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Missed my own deadline again *shame shame shame* But this WIP is still alive and kicking. This chapter is mostly smut and barely any plot, which is why it took so long to write. Thank you everyone who are still dropping me some nice comments and even pressing that kudos button. I hope you have a great rest of your week!

Changmin walked through the lush garden that was near the villa they were renting. Barcelona was so beautiful in May. Not too hot, just perfect weather to go outside. Yunho and Changmin had been here for nearly a week and they had already explored a lot.

 

They had spent some time walking around and experiencing Gothic Quarter. Changmin wanted to relive that so he pulled out his DSLR (Jihye had very kindly help him pick one for their vacation) and went through the pictures from the Gothic Quarter. There were some nice shots of Gothic architecture that he had taken. He smiled as he came across the picture he had taken when Yunho had joined the kids in a pick-up game of soccer.

 

The man managed to look charming and adorable at the same time. Changmin scrolled through the different shots he had taken of Yunho. Currently, Yunho’s pictures outnumbered all the other ones. Changmin paused when he came across the picture of him playing the guitar in the Gothic quarter. Yunho must have clicked it when the lady who was busking had asked Changmin to come over and strum a few chords, if he could. After that picture, there were a series of him just looking down to get the chords right.

 

Changmin’s finger moved to delete all of these unnecessary shots but he paused thinking if Yunho would make a fuss about it. He had made a huge fuss when Changmin had deleted some of his pictures. When they were on the food tour, Yunho had taken hold of the DSLR for the day and just taken far too many shots of Changmin stuffing his mouth with Catalonian cuisine. There were just 5 shots of Changmin looking like a hamster while chewing. Changmin had deleted four of them thinking keeping one would be enough.

 

Later when Yunho went through the pictures and couldn’t find the rest four, he threw such a hissy fit demanding that Changmin delete some of the pictures of him that he had taken, in retribution. From then on, Changmin doesn’t dare to delete the pictures Yunho had taken of him without his permission.

 

“Yo”, a familiar voice caught his attention.

 

“Baby”, the word itself made Changmin turn in the direction of the voice. And there was Yunho, perched on a motorbike with a cocky smile. He was wearing a grey tank top with jeans, ripped at the thighs and wearing his ridiculous black rounded lens retro sunglasses, topped with a dog-tag necklace. It was a far cry from the serious suits that the Duke was perpetually dressed in.

 

God, it was going to be such a pain, every available girl or guy was going to hit on Yunho. Not that didn’t happen, usually. But the suits kind of made Yunho much less approachable but this look was just....

 

Let’s just say had Changmin not known Yunho and he had seen Yunho like this at a bar, even someone as shy like him would have bought him a drink.

 

“Need a ride”, asked Yunho, biting his lower lip and giving Changmin a blatant once over. Damn, if that didn’t didn’t do things to Changmin. Changmin couldn’t help but glance at Yunho’s thighs that were peeking out of the rips. God, he would love to ride them. Yunho smirked as he caught Changmin staring at his thighs. Changmin immediately became embarrassed as he caught Yunho’s smirk.

 

“I am married, so move along”, said Changmin and started walking away from Yunho.

 

“What kind of a dumbass is that husband of yours, leaving you alone like this”, he heard in response and saw that Yunho was slowly rolling the bike to keep pace with him. The man was was incorrigible.

 

“He is an important man not a no-name like you who idles his time away chasing Omegas”, shot back Changmin.

 

“I know that was supposed to hurt but you are so pretty, everything you say sounds sweet”, said Yunho putting his hand on his heart as if he had been struck. The whole thing was so ridiculous that Changmin couldn’t help but break into a smile.

 

“All of your pickup lines are terrible”, said Changmin.

 

“You smiled, that means they are working”, insisted Yunho with a grin on his face.

 

“You are ridiculous, you know. You are lucky you have that face otherwise you got no game”, remarked Changmin trying take the Alpha down a peg

 

Yunho crossed his arms and gave him a cocky smile in response.

 

“I have got plenty of game. Got you to marry me, didn't I”, he boasted. Changmin rolled his eyes at that.

 

“It was because of your face”, retorted Changmin.

 

“I don't think it was the face that you were looking at, you eyes always seem to be on a lower trajectory”, shot back Yunho with a smirk. Yunho enjoyed seeing Changmin’s ears turning red at that statement.

 

“You are so full of yourself”, said Changmin, all flustered, turning away from Yunho.

 

“And you are so stubborn”, retorted Yunho.

 

“So are you. How far do you plan on lugging that bike”, shot back Changmin turning back towards Yunho.

 

“Until you decide to get on it”, replied Yunho with a deadly cute pout. Changmin just had to take a picture of it.

 

“Whoa”, said Yunho a bit surprised at the flash going off.

 

“Had to take a picture of you looking ridiculous”, said Changmin with a smirk.

 

”You like it”, retorted Yunho, defensively. Changmin shook his head at the Alpha’s shenanigans and packed up the camera.

 

“Open up the back-seat storage”, relented Changmin. Yunho tossed him the key in response. Changmin easily caught the key. When Changmin opened the backseat, it already seemed too crowded, there huge blanket covering some stuff. What was Yunho planning, Changmin wondered as he stowed away his camera and grabbed a helmet for himself.

 

“Where are we going”, Changmin asked as he settled on the backseat.

 

“On a ride”, Yunho promptly replied.

 

“Very specific”, taunted Changmin before he cheekily held Yunho by his chest.

 

“You are going to hold on like that”, asked Yunho surprised.

 

“Why? Is it a problem”, asked Changmin before squeezing his pecs for a good measure. Fuck, Yunho was getting hard.

 

“Not yet”, said Yunho quickly glancing to his pants to check his bulge wasn’t noticeable.

 

“In that case...”, said Changmin before he moved his hands to squeeze Yunho’s cock through his pants. Yunho looked back at Changmin, shocked by the Omega’s unusual boldness.

 

“What”, asked Changmin blinking innocently.

 

Well, two could play this game. Yunho turned to Changmin and looped his hand around his waist. Now, Changmin’s eyes went wide in panic

 

He pulled the Omega closer to his body and said, “If you wanted to get frisky right here, you should have said so”

 

Yunho went in for a kiss but Changmin immediately shut his visor to block him.

 

“You are giving me all kinds of mixed signals, here”, taunted Yunho with a smirk.

“Shut up and start the bike”, shot back Changmin hitting Yunho on his shoulder lightly.

 

“Yes, your highness”, grumbled Yunho before put on his helmet on and started the bike.

 

Yunho drove them at a leisurely pace, Changmin clung on Yunho more and more as the cool breeze kept hitting his bare legs. It wasn’t cold but the breeze hitting them hard was making him shiver a bit

 

“You getting cold”, asked Yunho, a bit concerned, he probably felt it because Changmin was completely sticking to him.

 

“Just a bit”, said Changmin gritting his teeth.

 

“We will get there soon, I promise”, assured Yunho.

 

“Ahh, so we are going somewhere not just idly taking a ride”, chimed in Changmin at Yunho’s slip up.

 

“You will have to see it for yourself”, said Yunho, sounding excited.

 

Changmin could see that they were driving past more and more people. He looked took off his visor and focused at the huge entrance that was decorated with flowers. It read ‘Temps de flors’.

 

“Flower festival”, exclaimed Changmin unable to hide his excitement.

 

“‘Coz they are pretty like you”, added Yunho knowing that it would piss off Changmin.

 

“I am so happy, I will let that one slide”, shot back Changmin. Yunho felt like a true king when he heard that he had made Changmin happy.

 

Yunho told Changmin to go ahead and that he would join him soon. Changmin grabbed his DSLR and went through the entrance. Changmin was in awe of all the flower arrangements in there. There were so many flowers that Changmin had never even heard of, all so pretty and astounding. There were too many people busy clicking pictures, apparently they also had a photography competition going on. Changmin was just in awe, he had never seen so many flowers at one place, some of the arrangements were even taller than him and that was saying something.

 

“Waaahh”, Changmin heard, Yunho had joined his side by then. Changmin noticed that he was carrying picnic blanket in one hand and a big box in the other. So, Yunho had planned for them to have a picnic while viewing flowers, typical of the romantic in him.

“I heard it would be pretty but this is...”, Yunho trailed off in awe of the flowers.

 

“Amazing”, Changmin completed his sentence.

 

“Cmon”, said Yunho nudging Changmin. He led them to a different section where there was no one. It was sort of a corner where there were  lot of flowers were arranged to hang from the top, it was beautiful.

 

Changmin was so busy taking pictures that he doesn’t realize Yunho coming from behind. Changmin jumped a bit as Yunho hugged him from behind. Changmin continued to take pictures but froze when he felt Yunho pressing butterfly kisses along his neck.

 

“What are you doing”, asked Changmin a bit panicked, they were at a very public place.

 

“I reserved this section for us”, said Yunho as he nipped where Changmin’s mating bite was at. Changmin shivered at that.

 

“Reserved for what”, Changmin managed to ask before he gasped softly at Yunho lightly rubbing up against him from behind.

 

“Flower viewing, of course”, replied Yunho innocently blinking at Changmin

 

“Really”, asked Changmin skeptically.

 

Yunho just gave him an eskimo kiss before he pulled back and walked over to where he had already laid out the picnic blanket. Changmin followed him and made himself comfortable on the blanket, curious about the food.

He was expecting Yunho to get some Catalonian cuisine but he was pleasantly surprised when that the first box had Dwaeji Bulgogi in it. Changmin immediately opened up the rest of the boxes, there was rice (bless Yunho’s soul) and deep fried seaweed spring rolls. God, Changmin had been craving some Korean food. Yunho was tickled by the sheer glee in Changmin’s face as he stared at the boxes.

 

Changmin immediately pulled out the paper plates and chopsticks to get serve the food for both of them. Yunho tried to help but Changmin slapped his hands away. Yunho couldn’t remember if Changmin had banned him from serving food too, there were too many bans to keep track of.

Changmin sat back to eat but seemed to mull over something. Drinks would have made everything perfect!

 

Changmin told Yunho as much, “You know picnic and all is nice but ...”

 

Changmin trailed off as Yunho pulled out a beer can with a smug smile.

 

“You have to make do with the cans, there wasn’t enough space for anything fancy”, said Yunho before he tossed the can over to Changmin who caught it, quite impressed by the Alpha’s foresight. Changmin proceeded to laugh when Yunho pulled out strawberry bubble tea for himself.

 

“Aren’t you prince charming”, remarked Changmin opening his can.

 

“I will be whatever you want me to be”, replied Yunho stretching out on the blanket.

 

“How about a fool, then”, asked Changmin amused.

 

“I have no qualms in admitting that I am a fool, I did marry you, didn’t I”, retorted Yunho cheekily

 

Changmin kicked him lightly in response.

 

“Exactly what I was talking about”, said Yunho pointing his chopsticks at him.

 

“I will eat all of this and leave you to starve”, warned Changmin.

 

Yunho knew that it wasn’t an empty threat.

 

“I’ll behave”, relented Yunho. Changmin looked skeptical.

 

* * *

 

 

After their lunch, Changmin had stretched out on his back on the blanket just appreciating the beautiful flower arrangements around them. Yunho had taken hold of the DSLR and was busy clicking. Changmin knew that half of them were pictures of him.

“Don’t tell me you’ve wasted half of the memory just with my pictures”, whined Changmin.

 

“I was taking pictures of the flowers, you simply happen to be in the way”, defended Yunho taking another picture. Changmin frowned at the flash and sat up straight.

 

“Give me that”, demanded Changmin grabbing at the camera. Yunho took it away from his reach. Changmin glared at him.

 

“You are so territorial”, remarked Yunho.

 

“I am not”, argued Changmin.

 

“Don’t touch my food, don’t touch my camera”, said Yunho in a whiny tone.

 

“Yah, I sound nothing like that”, shot back Changmin. Then suddenly out of nowhere, a huge amount of petals just rained on him and soon he was buried in pearl red. Changmin was too shocked to react. Changmin looked up and saw that the arrangement had somehow come loose and fallen all over him.

 

What pissed him off even more was Yunho’s guffawing at him. Changmin just shook his head at him and started removing the petals stuck in his hair. Yunho took a picture of him instead of helping him.

 

“You are enjoying this, aren’t you”, accused Changmin.

 

“No”, claimed Yunho, his body still shaking with laughter.

 

“At least stop guffawing when you are lying like that”, shot back Changmin. However, Yunho soon joined in helping him picking the petals. After they had picked up most of it, Yunho blew the petals that he gathered in his palms onto Changmin’s face. Changmin glared at him as they were back to square one.

 

Changmin looked so adorable even when he was angry, Yunho couldn’t stop himself from kissing Changmin until the glare was gone. The kisses started as chaste but it got more and more heated with the next one. Before they realized, Yunho was pushing Changmin on the petals that had gathered on the picnic blanket. Once Changmin was flat on his back, Yunho got on top of him pressing down his body on Changmin’s while his tongue entered the Omega’s mouth once again.

 

Changmin forgot where they were until he felt Yunho’s hand creep up his shorts, two of his fingers already making their way up his underwear. Changmin became very aware of the fact even though they had reserved this place, anyone could walk in on them. Changmin immediately broke their kiss. Yunho looked at him surprised, his pupils dilated.

 

“Did you have any other plans for today”, asked Changmin catching his breath.

 

“I could always change them”, said Yunho focusing on Changmin’s lips which looked red and puffier due to their makeout.

 

“Good, coz we are going back”, said Changmin.

 

* * *

 

Back at hotel, they had already gone 3 rounds. Yunho’s knot was coming down, it was enough for him to slip out but Changmin had asked him to stay in for a few. Changmin like the sensation of being knotted. It was something he hadn’t experienced before marrying Yunho and now he just couldn’t get enough of it. Changmin had been thinking of numerous other things that he wanted to try in bed with Yunho.

 

“Yunho”, he said in a soft voice. Yunho kissed Changmin on the cheek in response.

 

Changmin started, “Is there some... “. His words were cut off when Yunho mischievously thrusts up a bit and a gasp escaped Changmin’s mouth. Changmin reached out and slapped him on his arm to stop teasing him. Yunho nipped at his ear. The Alpha was in a playful mood.

 

Changmin gathered his thoughts once more and asked, “Is there something you would have liked to try in bed but were too embarrassed to talk about”

 

“Like what”, asked Yunho, confused.

 

God, Yunho was sometimes so clueless. Was he really going to make Changmin ask him point blank about his kinks.

 

“For instance, you know how if one of our senses are blocked the remaining ones become heightened”, explained Changmin. Yunho hummed into his neck to continue. Yunho was making him lose his train of thought once again.

 

“I have always wondered how it would feel to you know.. when having sex”, said Changmin, hoping Yunho would catch his drift.

 

“Wondered ? You mean you have never done it”, asked Yunho sounding curious.

 

“No”, replied Changmin, happy that he was facing away from Changmin as Yunho was spooning him from behind. Suddenly Yunho’s huge hand covered his eyes tightly. Changmin then felt Yunho’s thumb tracing his lower lip slightly before two of his fingers entered his mouth. Changmin greedily began sucking on them. Fuck, he knew he was getting hard once again.

 

Yunho smirked as he watched Changmin go hard in seconds.

 

“This gets you hot”, Yunho whispered in a husky voice into Changmin’s ears. That is when Changmin felt Yunho’s cock twitch inside him. So, Yunho was also getting turned on by this, interesting!

 

Yunho then retracted both his hands. Changmin almost whined in protest.

 

“What about you”, pressed on Changmin, now that they were on the same wavelength.

 

“Well... uh”, Yunho trailed off feeling embarrassed.

 

“Oh come on, you are literally in me, right now, don’t pull the shy act now”, egged on Changmin.

 

Yunho buried his head in Changmin’s neck to hide his embarrassment and said, “When you cook”

 

“What”, asked Changmin not quite believing what he had heard.

 

“It’s not like that”, Yunho immediately shot up in defense.

 

“Not like what”, asked Changmin confused.  

 

Yunho sighed, unsure if he could explain it properly. He buried his nose in Changmin’s hair and said, “There was this one day you were in the kitchen in just a bathrobe, hair damp, fresh out of shower, bare feet, bent over concentrated on the pan”

 

What a sight it was! Yunho had wanted to push his measly bathrobe up and take him from behind.    

 

“God, I wanted to bendyouoverandtakeyouthere”, Yunho muffled the last part of his sentence too turned on.

 

Changmin felt Yunho go hard inside him. Wow, that was quite a sensation, Changmin felt his own cock twitch in response to that.

 

“Ready for round 4, already”, was all Changmin got out before Yunho turned him over and proceeded to fuck him into oblivion.

 

* * *

 

Changmin got out of the pool after completing the last of his laps. The villa had a nice outdoor pool, Changmin loved to make use of it especially in the humid weather of Barcelona. He grabbed the dry towel he had laid out on the chaise lounge. Changmin took his time drying himself. Once he was satisfied that his hair wasn’t dripping water, he put the towel around his neck.

 

Changmin peeked to check if Yunho had appeared in the living room but there was no sign of the Alpha. Yunho got a phone call this morning and had been holed up in the office room the whole time trying to coordinate and figure out stuff. Changmin thought of exploring without him but it just didn’t feel right so he spend the day catching up on some of his own work, doing laundry and finally swimming.

 

Changmin’s phone vibrated, there was a new kakaotalk message. Changmin wondered if something was up with Taemin. He swiped curiously but was surprised to see that the message was from Kyuhyun.

 

Kyuhyun had been giving him the silent treatment since the mess that happened at his wedding. Changmin wasn’t sure if he should read it but there was a very big possibility that Kyuhyun was contacting him because he was stuck in a bad situation.

 

_Kyu: “When are you supposed to comeback, there is something I needed to discuss with you”_

 

That sounded vaguely ominous.

 

_Me: “Is everything alr8”, typed out Changmin_

 

_Kyu: “Yes, it’s actually about work”_

 

That confused Changmin a lot.

 

_Me: “Work ????”_

 

_Kyu: “I don’t know if you remember but there was this song that you wrote a long time back, it hadn’t gotten the green light”_

 

Changmin did write a few songs for Kyuhyun under the pseudonym ‘Max’. The last one he had written for him would be at least 3 years ago or so. It was basically a very raunchy song about how Kyuhyun made love. Changmin considered it as a bad fanfiction he wrote when he was young and never wanted to be reminded of it ever again.

 

_Me: “That ancient thing? I thought they said it was inappropriate”_

 

_Kyu: “They have changed their mind now, they want a song that would get people’s attention”_

 

Changmin rolled his eyes, he would never understand how marketing worked.

 

_Me: “I probably have that saved somewhere, I will have to dig through”_

 

_Kyu: “I do have a copy of the song with me”_

 

_Me: “You can just use that, then”_

 

_Kyu: “What about the song credit”_

 

_Me: “idc abt it, especially dis one”_

 

_Kyu: “They want you to sign a waiver, for legal reasons, that you are handing over the rights”_

 

_Me: “Can this wait for a couple of weeks”_

 

_Kyu: “Of course”_

 

Changmin wanted to put the phone away, all this talk had kind of made him a bit irritated, but he couldn’t because it showed that Kyuhyun was still typing something.

 

Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed him by his waist and he was pulled back flush into the person’s body. Of course, it was none other than Yunho who had managed to sneak up on him while he was distracted by the whole Kyuhyun thing. Changmin almost dropped his phone in the hurry to shut down the app.

 

“Yunho”, gasped Changmin in surprise. Yunho affectionately nuzzled his neck.

 

Yunho’s hands traced through the hard lines of his abs as he whispered into Changmin’s ears, “You have a beautiful body”, sounding almost reverent.

 

“What I love the most of about it is that it’s so damn sensitive”, said Yunho in a deep voice  before he pinched one of Changmin’s nipples hard. Changmin shivered in response. Damn, Changmin didn’t even know that his nipples were sensitive. Not until Yunho started playing with them almost every time they fucked.

 

Changmin felt something silky brush against his cheek. Changmin almost moaned at the feel of it.

 

“What are you doing”, asked Changmin, his voice a bit shaky.

“What we talked about doing today”, replied Yunho as he brushed the silky thing against Changmin’s lips. Changmin took a quick glance at it and immediately knew that it was a blindfold.

 

Last week in the high of orgasm, Changmin had started a discussion about their kinks which he had later felt embarrassed about. But Yunho had taken the whole thing seriously. He was looking at stuff online and even asked if Changmin would be okay with being blindfolded.

 

They also had this discussion about the toys Changmin would be comfortable using. Changmin’s ears had almost burnt off. Both of them had gotten so pent up with the discussion that they had fucked right there on the couch.

 

Today in the afterglow of their morning fuck, Yunho had suggested that they ‘play’ later today. But Yunho had received a call in the morning which had thrown all their plans into disarray. But looked like Yunho was fully committed to it.

 

“Still up for it”, asked Yunho tugging on his hair to turn his face towards him. “Yes”, replied Changmin looking into the Alpha’s eyes. The Alpha’s beautiful dark eyes were the last thing he saw before he was blindfolded.

 

Changmin was a little surprised, he had expected that Yunho would blindfold him after they had moved to their bedroom. It just made more sense so that Yunho won’t have to help a blindfolded Changmin all the way to their bedroom. But they weren’t moving at all.

 

“Are we gonna move anytime today”, taunted Changmin. It was a bit intimidating and thrilling to not know where Yunho was. He then felt Yunho’s hands cupping his ass before he was pulled forward flush against the Alpha’s body.

 

“Should I take you here, right on the lounge where anyone walking past would see you being bred by your mate”, he heard Yunho say. Yunho’s voice was sending shivers down his spine, goosebumps were rising all over his body. Yunho moved away from him. Changmin anticipated the Alpha’s next move. Was he really going to follow through his words ?

 

He was then being lifted off the ground in Yunho’s arm. Changmin struggled a bit but was able to get his arm around Yunho’s neck. Yunho stumbled a few times, Changmin hoped he wouldn’t drop him. He felt them go inside and after navigating for a while Changmin was carefully on what he could feel was a bed.

 

Changmin heard the rustling of clothes. Yunho was probably undressing quickly. Changmin almost wanted to take his blindfold off because naked Yunho was always a sight to behold. Those beautiful pecs, strong thighs and mostly the massive thing between his legs. The Alpha’s dick was not only long but also extremely girthy. Even though Yunho and Changmin have been fucking quite regularly for a while, Changmin still limps a bit after it. And he fucking loves it!

 

Changmin tensed up as he felt Yunho’s weight on the bed. He immediately felt Yunho’s fingers on the band of his wet swimming trunks. Changmin lifted his hips up a bit as Yunho took off his trunks leaving him completely naked.

 

He then felt Yunho’s hands on his hips, holding them in place,a dead giveaway on what he intended to do. Still, Yunho’s first lick on the slit of his cock surprised him. Yunho’s strong grip on his hips stopped him from jolting forward. Yunho then licked a long trail along his cock. Changmin moaned as Yunho continued teasing his cock, this time folding his tongue in a such a way and Changmin almost came when Yunho inserted it just a bit into his cock slit.

 

“You are close, I can feel it”, said Yunho fondling Changmin’s balls. Then without any warning Yunho took him his mouth, he almost thrust into Yunho’s mouth without warning but Yunho had the foresight to keep Changmin’s hips in check. Yunho then enthusiastically started sucking on it. Changmin knew he was getting close, his thighs were quivering trying to hold it together. Suddenly Yunho took him in deep in in mouth and hummed, the vibrations basically broke the dam and Changmin came in thick spurts. Yunho swallowed it enthusiastically.

 

“You taste so sweet, Changmin-ah. So fertile, you won’t even need heat to conceive”, murmured Yunho into his ears.  Changmin didn’t know why but that made his whole body shiver in anticipation.

 

It was a familiar concept that the sweeter an Omega’s cum was, the more fertile they were. Usually, the heat would be the time where an Omega would be the most fertile but Changmin knew that Yunho and him were so compatible that Changmin would have definitely been knocked up even outside of heat had they been trying for a child.

 

He felt two of Yunho’s meaty fingers enter his hole.

 

“You are so wet. Bet you could take both me and a dildo together, in there”, said Yunho as he pressed against Changmin’s prostate. Changmin wanted to shut his legs close like a shy virgin. God, just taking Yunho’s cock was a struggle, taking something along with it was unimaginable. He won’t be able to walk for a week even with his accelerated werewolf healing. Fuck, if Yunho continued to play with his prostate the way he was doing it now, he would do anything anything Yunho wanted.  

 

Changmin had squirted by the time Yunho finally withdrew his hands. He expected Yunho’s cock to take his fingers place. Yunho liked to get Changmin to orgasm at least twice before he knotted him so Changmin’s stamina had been built up over the months they have going at it. Now, it was beyond four when Changmin’s body couldn’t keep up. He didn’t know that it was possible to come five or six times outside of heat. There was once they had made it to a sixth round, Changmin doesn’t remember much about it, he had blacked out as soon as he felt like he was coming.

 

But Changmin’s expectation were subverted as he felt something foreign near his hole. It fully entered Changmin in one push. Changmin was used to Yunho’s cock so it didn’t take him much to adjust to the toy. He shivered as he felt Yunho trailing his fingers on his inner thighs before he moved the toy around a little more so that pressed up against Changmin’s prostate. Changmin bit his lips in anticipation. All of a sudden, the toy pushing up against his prostate started vibrating.

 

“Ah ah ah ah...”, Changmin started gasping loudly, these new sensations were too much for him.

 

The scene in front of Yunho was beyond erotic, Yunho was so fucking worked up seeing Changmin all sweaty, his knuckles almost turning white due to the force with which he was clutching at sheets struggling to deal with all the stimulation, his hips having marks where Yunho had held him down . His knot had already started swelling even without penetrating Changmin.

 

Yunho looked at Changmin’s mouth which was parted as he continued gasping in pleasure.

 

“Don’t bite me”, said Yunho to signal Changmin that he was about to enter his mouth. He rubbed his cock slit against Changmin’s lips coating them with his precome, making his intentions clear.

 

Changmin almost salivated at the prospect of having Yunho’s cock in his mouth. As expected Yunho put the whole thing in at once knowing Changmin could handle it. Changmin enthusiastically sucked Yunho’s cock all the while his prostate was being constantly stimulated by the vibrator. He was so close to another orgasm, he just needed the extra push. He was able find Yunho’s hands and tapped insistently against it. Yunho immediately pulled out of his mouth.

 

“Fuck my mouth”, managed Changmin, drool running down his mouth. Who was Yunho to deny his husband ? He obliged and started fucking Changmin’s mouth in earnest. Yunho pulled out when he felt like he was close and came all over Changmin’s chest. As soon as Yunho’s hot spunk hit his skin, Changmin came as well. Only Yunho’s orgasm lasted a lot longer and by the time his knot came down, Changmin had been completely drenched in the Alpha’s cum. Changmin knew that he was going to smell like Yunho for a few days now even if he showered twice a day.

 

Yunho turned off the vibrator once he got hold of his faculties after his knot had gone down. Meanwhile, Changmin had come another time due to the relentless pressure of the vibrator. Yunho pulled the vibrator out of Changmin and rushed to take off his blindfold. Changmin had to blink a couple of times and squint to adjust to the light of the room. Changmin’s eyes immediately went to his body, he was covered him come, a gush of slick from his hole was slowly making his way towards his legs. He was such a mess, he felt so embarrassed that he couldn’t look at Yunho who was lying beside him. He had to take shower. He gingerly sat up and then got up. But his feet couldn’t take his weight and he immediately fell back onto the bed.

 

Yunho as always noticed and carried him to the bathroom where he then joined him in the bathtub for a hot bath.

 

* * *

 

Yunho walked towards the kitchen with some trepidation. Yunho was in the office room just double checking some files when a knock came on the door. It was Changmin who had warned him from behind the door to drop everything and show up to the kitchen in no more than 5 minutes. That was very unusual because Changmin usually never bothered him if he was in his office.

 

Yunho paused at the entrance to the kitchen, taken aback by the scene in front of him. Changmin was standing barefooted in the kitchen wearing only a red short silk robe, his hair slightly wet which was falling over his face. He was bent over trying to put together a fruit bowl. Yunho’s cock just twitched in response. He knew an invitation when he saw one. So, he just marched ahead pushed Changmin’s legs apart to get his own between them.

 

Changmin was surprised by the sudden push and grabbed onto the counter to maintain his balance. Yunho then pressed up his thigh in between Changmin’s inner thighs and was excited to just feel Changmin’s ass crack against his bare skin. Changmin was going commando.

 

“What ? No hello ? No foreplay? You just directly went between my legs”, taunted Changmin.

“No, this is going to be quick and dirty”, shot back Yunho as he poured some olive oil into his hands. Changmin was a little worried about how the Olive oil would come into play.

 

Yunho’s hand quickly slid inside Changmin’s robe and grabbed his cock. Changmin moaned at the light squeeze Yunho gave his cock. Soon enough, The Alpha quickly started jerking him off using the oil as lubrication. Changmin just held on the counter and bit his lips as Yunho huge hands worked his magic on him. He was close to coming but needed a bit to push him over the edge. Yunho then breached Changmin’s cock slit with his middle finger and was it. Changmin bent over as he orgasmed. Yunho had the foresight to use his hand and the robe to catch all of it  rather than it getting sprayed on the spotless kitchen counter. The neat freak in Changmin would have never forgiven Yunho if the later had happened.

 

God, Yunho was so hard. He had fought to not pop a knot while he was giving Changmin a handjob. He wanted to knot Changmin and he wouldn’t even get to penetration if the knot popped before that because knots were huge and penetrating with an inflated knot would always be very painful.

 

Yunho bit his lips as he tried to hold back. His fingers immediately travelled to Changmin’s hole, it was dripping wet after his orgasm.

 

“You are producing much more slick than before, it’s like your body just knows and preps itself for the knotting”, remarked Yunho with a smirk.

God, that just made Changmin feel hot all over. Because all of it was true. When they first started having sex, Changmin didn’t produce enough slick. Yunho had to spend quite some time rimming him to get him appropriately wet so Changmin could take the knotting. However, over time his body has changed now it produced more slick with very little stimulation like it is expecting Yunho’s knot. Changmin’s body was adapting to his mate’s trying to make breeding even more easier. Fuck, if that wasn’t simultaneously, the hottest and the most embarrassing thing ever.

 

Yunho unbuttoned his short and pushed his underwear enough to free his cock which was now hard enough to pound nails. Yunho stripped Changmin off the robe and put it on the floor and asked Changmin to get on all fours. Changmin felt a bit embarrassed, they had never really done it in the traditional breeding position like this. It felt a lot he was presenting his hole to the Alpha and that thought in itself was turning Changmin on a lot.

 

Changmin got on his fours, his cock twitched thinking slutty and shameless the position was making him look, just in the perfect position for Yunho to enter him at once at knot him.

 

Yunho got behind him and penetrated Changmin easily. He set a very quick pace hitting Changmin’s prostate from the get go. After some brutal and accurate thrusts, Changmin was coming once again. Yunho’s knot swelled and locked them together for a long and thorough breeding.

 

Yunho and Changmin stretched out side by side waiting for Yunho’s knot to go down.

 

“Wow that was...wow”, was all Changmin could manage to say before Yunho’s hot cum emptying inside him pulled a loud moan from him. Changmin knew he was going to be limping at the La Liga soccer game they were supposed to attend tomorrow.

 

Yunho’s hand went to Changmin’s stomach which ever so slightly bulging due to the the amount of cum Yunho was pushing into Changmin. Yunho knew his body has been changing too, he has been producing a larger amount of cum than usual during knotting compared to what it used to before his marriage. It’s like his body is pulling all the tricks to ensure that the breeding is a successful one. Yunho is more than thankful for the protection, now more than ever.

 

* * *

 

 

Changmin woke up from his sleep, feeling parched. He poured himself a glass of water and drank it immediately. Changmin looked at his side, it was empty. Looked like Yunho hadn’t come over to sleep at all.

 

They had spend their day watching La Liga match between Barcelona and Real Madrid. They were on the VIP section, they got to enjoy it to the fullest and even met the stars after the match. It was a lot of fun but was equally tiring. Changmin had come home from their dinner and just taken a quick shower and crashed on the bed by 9:30 pm

 

Changmin knew Yunho was tired too so he had at least expected him to come to sleep later. Changmin looked at the clock it read 3:58 am. Wow, it was far too late! Changmin ventured out from his bedroom in the search of his night-owl of a husband. He noticed that the outdoor pool had its lights on. He went there and immediately spotted Yunho with a laptop on the patio table and him on a chair staring absently at a black screen.

 

“Can’t sleep”, asked Changmin, knowing the answer fully well. Changmin voice seemed to snap Yunho out of his thoughts as he startled a bit.

 

But he recovered quickly and replied,  “Just feeling restless”

 

“You look tired, though. Your eyes are swollen”, said Changmin settling himself beside Yunho.

 

“That’s my line”, teased Yunho with a tired smile.

 

“You are not used to taking such a long vacation, are you”, asked Changmin.

 

“Not really. Sometimes I take a couple of days off or leave work a bit early. Besides, there’s no point in taking more days off than that, I would never be able to relax, they need me there for a lot of things”, said Yunho in reply.

 

Changmin couldn’t do anything about it, Yunho’s position was a stressful one. Changmin couldn’t even think of ever investing so much of himself on his work like Yunho did.

 

“Understandable”, Changmin said, not knowing what else to add to it. This issue about Yunho’s insomnia is something Changmin wanted to talk about but he just didn’t know what to say, especially when he wasn’t sure how Yunho would take it. They were on a holiday, he didn’t want to pick fights here.

 

So, he got from his seat and said, “I will leave one of the lamps on in the bedroom incase you catch your elusive sleep”

 

Changmin turned to leave but he paused when Yunho caught his hand. Changmin looked at his inquisitively.

 

“That’s it? I was at least hoping for an offer of warm milk”, said Yunho with a good-natured smile.

 

Changmin couldn’t help but smile back at him.

 

“I would have offered you that but that clearly won’t fix this”, he said.

 

“This”, asked Yunho confused.

 

Changmin recognized that he wouldn’t get a better opening that so he sat back down and sighed.

 

“Insomnia”, Changmin finally answered looking into Yunho’s eyes. If Changmin was expecting anger or denial from Yunho, that didn’t happen.

 

Instead Yunho looked surprised and uttered, “How did you...”

 

“An educated guess, I suppose”, Changmin replied promptly.

Yunho still looked confused so Changmin expanded further on it, “I thought you were just busy and stressed but sometimes you won’t fall asleep even after we have 4 or 5 rounds of sex so I figured something was off”

 

Yunho sighed in response and stared quietly off to a distance.

 

After a while of silence Changmin ventured, “I don’t mean to misstep but have you ever considered consulting a doctor about it”

 

“Far too many”, replied Yunho, his shoulders drooping a bit.

 

“I don’t know what I was expecting, a cure maybe ? I am dumb like that, I like to hope against hope. Most of the doctors prescribed me pills but they just made me feel muddier in the head, the next day. Tried bunch of exercises, therapies, tried to change my routine but nothing happened”, said Yunho before he pressed his lips into a thin line.

 

Changmin knew Yunho was deeply upset about it but was trying to put on a cool exterior.

 

“Finally, I was told that I was highly functional so I decided to live with it without any medications. It’s not like I can be cured or anything so...”, Yunho’s voice almost broke at the last part so he trailed off and just shrugged to complete his sentence.

 

Changmin knew his eyes had welled up seeing Yunho like that. Yunho had always been such a strong figure putting on the act that he was going to be alright. Changmin had wanted to see this raw side of him mostly because that would make Yunho more human and not a superhero kind of person. Right now, he hated seeing Yunho like this. Why must someone as kind and precious like Yunho be dealt such unfair cards in life ? Why did everyone Changmin ever care about get into problems which Changmin can do nothing about ?

 

Changmin could not even imagine the problem Yunho lives with. To be dead-tired and yet not get a wink of sleep, Changmin didn’t know how he would have handled an issue like that for the rest of this life.

 

Yunho smiled at Changmin trying to cheer him up. What an absurd man! Changmin should be trying to cheer him up and not vice versa. So, Changmin conveyed his feelings the best way he knows how to, especially with Yunho. Changmin gave Yunho a soft but long kiss, hoping to console Yunho but also convey that he was proud of him.

 

Yunho kissed him back passionately. It didn’t remain chaste any longer as Changmin let Yunho take the control. Suddenly Yunho pulled back his eyes flashing red momentarily. Changmin looked surprised.

 

“You are getting close to your heat”, said Yunho, it was the first time that Yunho had smelled it on the Omega. Usually, Changmin was so prompt at taking his suppressants that his scent never even changed.

 

“I have been getting it on with you at least 3 times a day since we have arrived here, I would be concerned if my heat didn’t get triggered”, retorted Changmin with a smirk.

 

“I...”, Changmin made a false start not knowing you to broach the topic. Yunho smiled at him prompting to go on.

 

“I am thinking about not taking suppressants”, said Changmin.

 

Yunho’s eyes flashed red again, Yunho’s inner Alpha was extremely pleased but Yunho had to be the voice of reason,

 

“You want to go through it”, asked Yunho.

 

“I have never really gone through one, there was never a good time for it”, said Changmin before pursing his lips.

 

“Since, we are here I figured we could, you know. Of course that’s contingent on your availability. I can always take a suppressant if you are busy”, expanded Changmin, feeling a bit unsure of Yunho’s answer.

 

“My calendar just opened up for the whole week”, said Yunho going in for another kiss.

 

 

* * *

 

Changmin woke up in the morning feeling hot and sweaty. He figured it was the humidity in the air. Changmin headed off to take a cold shower. It did work right up until he was having breakfast, he started feeling hot again. Maybe he was coming down with something.  Except when by the time he finished his breakfast, he started feeling wet down there. That was definitely strange, it only happened when he was turned on. As he got up from his seat a huge gush of slick came of his hole. Could it be ?

 

Yunho came out of his office room, his eyes changing it’s color to red.

 

“You are in heat, I could smell you from my room”, said Yunho before he proceeded to check Changmin’s forehead and and noted his glazed over eyes.

 

God, Yunho smelled so good right now. He looked so good in the tank top and shorts, Changmin wanted him inside him, right now.

 

“So, take off your clothes and get on the bed”, said Yunho.

 

“Huh”, Changmin asked confused. Was Yunho a mind-reader?

 

“Not a mind-reader, you have been saying everything out loud”, explained Yunho.

 

That never happened to him before! Whatever, he wanted Yunho to come in him, right now. Yunho wisely didn’t let him know that he had said that out loud too. Though, Yunho’s cock had twitched at that statement. Heat or no heat when someone like Changmin said something like that anyone would a functioning dick would get hard.

 

* * *

 

By the third day of the heat, Changmin had completely lost all awareness, his inner Omega had completely overtaken him. His eyes remained golden-colored. Yunho figured the color wouldn’t go down until the heat was abated.

 

Yunho was taking Changmin from behind, Changmin on his fours on the bed. Yunho reached ahead and tweaked Changmin’s nipple and then pinched it hard. Changmin moaned loudly at that. Yunho had discovered on the first day of the heat that Changmin’s nipples had become extremely sensitive. In fact he had made Changmin come only playing with his nipples. God, the whole thing turned Yunho on so much.

 

Most of the first day, Yunho had just too much fun with them. At the end of the day, they looked red, puffy and swollen. Changmin whined that his nipples were so sore that he could not sleep on the stomach. But later in the night, Yunho had seen Changmin pressing on his abused nipples repeatedly to give himself pleasure.

 

The next day though, Changmin wanted Yunho’s cum in him. And he wouldn’t be satisfied with anything other than knotting. When Yunho pulled out after knotting, Changmin whined saying he wanted to keep it all in and fuck if that hadn’t made Yunho pop another knot then and there. Yunho had finally made use of a butt plug that he had ordered when he had discussed what toys Changmin was comfortable with or would like to try out.

 

After every knotting that day, Yunho had put the butt plug back in. Except for the last one where he pulled it out and helped Changmin clean it all up in the shower. This was mostly because if that amount of cum remained in Changmin for more than 18 hours or so there was a chance that Changmin could become pregnant even with any kind of protection. Usually, when they have sex, they clean up immediately after knotting so that isn’t a problem. But this one where Changmin insists on holding all the cum from six knottings throughout the day could spell problems for them if Yunho didn’t make Changmin get rid of it.

 

Yesterday, Changmin was too tired by night to protest against the butt plug being removed. However, this time, Yunho thought he wasn't going to be that lucky. Even delirious like this, Yunho couldn’t pull a fast one Changmin.

 

When Yunho’s knot swelled up, he pulled Changmin back, flush against his body. Yunho moved to sit back on his haunches pulling Changmin with him. This position made this knot slip even deeper into Changmin, maximizing his pleasure. Soon, Yunho was coming.

 

Yunho was quite amazed at how much he had come in a single day and the fact that it was all there. Yunho traced Changmin’s lower stomach, it was so distended with the amount of cum he was holding, he almost looked pregnant.

 

“Don’t take the plug out after this”, Changmin feverishly murmured.

 

“I don’t think you can hold more than that”, said Yunho instead of saying the real reason, knowing Changmin wasn’t all there right now.

 

“You want kids don’t you”, said Changmin and that immediately caught Yunho’s attention.

 

“So just leave it in there until you knock me up with a litter”, insisted Changmin.

 

Before Yunho could say anything, Changmin nipped at his ear and added, “Or it could be a whole pack, you know we are too compatible, we can easily have a large number of kids at once”

 

Changmin moaned as he felt Yunho’s knot swell up even more at that. Dammit, his dick had no morals!

 

Yunho knew that wasn’t what Changmin really wanted. Changmin was currently delirious and his only relief was his Alpha’s cum so he was trying everything to keep that. Besides, Changmin trusted him, he trusted him enough to go through his first heat with him. This would be like spitting in the face of all the trust that Changmin had so freely bestowed upon him.

 

To have a kid with someone who you love so dearly is one of the greatest gifts for Yunho. But if this was the only way he could have it, he would rather never have any kids and preserve his relationship with Changmin.

 

“Not like this, not when you eyes are still golden, not when you are still in heat”, finally replied Yunho.

 

“Coward”. is all Changmin said before he went silent.

 

* * *

 

On the fifth day, Changmin’s eyes had turned back to black. He was still feeling horny but he wasn’t delirious anymore. Yunho figured that Changmin probably knew whatever came out of his mouth during the days that he was delirious because Changmin refused to even look at him. He was too embarrassed and Yunho knew that it wasn’t because of all the sex they had.

 

Yunho was heating up some food for Changmin when his phone started ringing. It flashed ‘Heechul Hyung’. Well, that was odd. Heechul never contacted him when he was out of state not even in the case of earth-shattering devastation.

 

Yunho picked it up and cheerfully greeted, “Hyung, how are you”

 

“The same old, I doubt a couple of weeks can change me”, replied Heechul.

 

Good, the snark was still there so it shouldn’t be anything catastrophic.

 

“Ooo... someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed”, teased Yunho.

 

“You sound disgustingly cheerful”, remarked Heechul.

 

“You love it”, shot back Yunho taking the warm food out of the microwave oven. There was no answer from Heechul’s side. Yunho thought that the call might have dropped.

 

“Hyung, you there”, asked Yunho.

 

“Yeah”, said Heechul with a sigh.

 

“What is it”, asked Yunho a little perplexed.

 

“Nothing, just wanted to check if you were alive, you are never gone this long”, whined Heechul.

 

“I know right, now I don’t want to comeback”, acknowledged Yunho.

 

“Really ? The workaholic, Jung Yunho dreading work”, asked Heechul surprised

 

“It’s not the work that I dread”, said Yunho cryptically.

 

It was the sheer amount of time he got to spend with Changmin being cut off was what he dreaded. Yes, they were married and did live together but both of them were busy and now he had gotten used to having Changmin all to himself, it would be hard to go back to their usual hectic life.

 

“I am hanging up before you cheese out anymore. Get me something from there, you punk”, said Heechul before he hung up on Yunho.

That whole call was weird. Yunho would have to talk to Hyung when he got back. Currently, he had to woo his husband who was currently giving him the silent treatment with some good food. Nothing gets Changmin to open up more than food.

 

* * *

 

“I told you not to call him”, said Donghae giving Heechul the stink eye.

 

“I didn’t say anything”, defended Heechul.

 

“Uh huh, why is that”, asked Donghae.

 

“He sounded so happy like he was high on sugar or something”, said Heechul with a wince.

 

“I told you, Yunho has a good thing going with Changmin. There is no need for him to know about Hojun hyung”, went off Donghae.

 

“He has a right to know that Hojun is back here in the city! You know how crazy he is about him”, argued Heechul.

 

“That was years ago, he is married now what could he possibly have to say to him anymore”, shot back Donghae.

 

“That is not for us to decide”, said Heechul calmly.

 

“So, why didn’t you tell Yunho”, asked Donghae.

 

“He can deal with it once he is back from his honeymoon”, Heechul ended the discussion with a shrug.

 

“Why? Why Yundol-ah? Why do you have the worst kind of luck in love”, thought Heechul with a disappointing shake of his head.

 

* * *

 

Yunho and Changmin were strolling around the city on the last night of their vacation. They had gone to a music concert, had dinner, watched the magic fountain. Changmin was ready to go home but Yunho insisted that they visited some other fountain which is supposed to grant wishes. Changmin relented mostly because he knew he was ever going to get so much quality time with Yunho to spend once they left Barcelona and Changmin didn’t want to waste even a single minute of it,

 

Changmin was going to remember this vacation for a long time. Even when he was old with grey hairs, he would remember Barcelona fondly. Changmin had known Yunho to be a kind and wonderful person but coming here Changmin realized how caring and trustworthy of a husband Yunho was.

 

Yunho had his ideal life served up in a platter in front of him. Changmin knew that Yunho had feelings for him how hard it would have been for him to decline the chance of having kids but he still did. Usually every relation had its give and take, it was true of every kind of relationship. When Yunho had given him his love, Changmin figured that he definitely expected something in return but there was truly nothing that he expected back from Changmin. And those were not just empty words, Yunho had stayed true to them.

 

That made Changmin think of the consequences of a relation where one person gives but never takes anything. It could never end well and the worst of it would be that Yunho would end up hating him in the long run. Maybe Yunho was fine now but after 5 years or ten years he will look back and see where that he invested all these emotions and affections but got back nothing. Was Changmin such a leech? What could he give Yunho in return? All he knew that he didn’t want Yunho to end up hating him.  

 

“I got us coins”, Yunho enthusiastic smile broke Changmin out from his thoughts.

 

“You can use both of them. I don’t really believe in this”, waved off Changmin with a smile. Yunho shrugged and tossed both the coins into the fountain. He clasped his hands tightly and prayed for something. The expression on his face was serene at that time that Changmin had to sneakily click a picture of it. He had a feeling this shot was going to be his favorite out of the lot.

 

Yunho finally opened his eyes and smiled at Changmin. Changmin couldn’t help but return the smile.

 

“You are not going to ask what I wished for” egged on Yunho.

 

“It’s not like you are going to tell me ‘coz you do want it to come true”, waved off Changmin.

Changmin started walking towards the parking, Yunho joined him and held his hand. Changmin blushed a bit and pointedly looked away from Yunho. He would only allow this sappy hand-holding here. Once they were back in Korea all of these sappy stuff would be banned!

 

“If you were granted one wish what would it be”, asked Yunho conversationally.

 

“I can’t really think of anything”, replied Changmin with a shrug.

 

“C’mon, there must be something”, insisted Yunho. Changmin sighed and gave it some thought.

 

“When I was a kid, I wanted a bigger stomach so I could stuff all the delicious food”, said Changmin.

 

“I think that has already been granted”, snickered Yunho. Changmin glared at him in response.

 

“Sorry, continue”, prompted Yunho.

 

“Later, I wished my father would understand me. It then turned into a wish to get as far away from him as possible”, continued Changmin. If Yunho had his way then Changmin would never have to interact with his father, ever again!

 

“And the biggest one of all, I wished my mother would survive”, said Changmin turning to face Yunho.

 

“Since most of my wishes have been granted I would give my one granted wish to you. Because, I know your wishes would be selfless and meaningful compared to mine so it’s better that they come true”, said Changmin before he took his hand away and continued walking ahead to hide how red his ears had gone when he had said that.

 

Yunho stood there for a while looking at Changmin’s back thinking to himself.

 

_You think too highly of me, Min-ah. My wishes are as common and selfish as a normal person’s would be. Who wouldn’t wish for the one they love to love them back ?_

 

When Changmin realized that Yunho wasn’t following him, he stopped in his tracks to look back at Yunho. When he found Yunho just standing at a spot, Changmin waved at him, gesturing him to come and join him. Yunho figured that the time that seemed to be frozen here in Barcelona was slipping away from his hands, he needs to get back to his real life. Changmin waited till Yunho reached him so that they could walk together. Yunho reached out and grabbed Changmin’s hand, Changmin who was tangible in his life.

 

“How are your hands always warm”, asked Changmin quite intrigued.

 

“It’s because I am a warm person, Min-ah”, shot back Yunho, it was too easy of an opening for him. Changmin just shook his head at him, disappointed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, we all know who is going to be making their grand entrance next week. The chapter update will return to its normal Sunday posting. Three more chapters to go!


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late again, I blame it on my habit of rambling on when writing drama. I am continuously amazed by the response I still get on this story! Thank you everyone who always leave such encouraging messages in the comment they really inspire me to write more. Also, thank you for the people who keep hammering that Kudos button. Thank you, all! Two more chapters to go! Here goes the chapter no one was ever ready for....

Changmin and Kyuhyun were at a high-profile restaurant in a private area so that they could peacefully wrap up all the paperwork that was needed to be done for Changmin to give up all the rights to his song.

 

Changmin was finally getting close to finishing up the last of the documents.

 

"Your hair has gotten long, are you planning to get it back to the length you had back in college", Kyuhyun interjected. Changmin self-consciously tucked his bang behind his ear. There was no way he was discussing the hair thing with Kyu.

 

“I just haven’t gotten around to cutting it off”, Changmin waved it off.

 

“Understandable, you have been quite busy”, said Kyuhyun. The word ‘busy’ was emphasized to indicate Changmin’s Spain trip. Changmin had no patience for all of these taunts or any kind of games so he turned the tables on Kyuhyun.

 

“How are things between you and Siwon”, he asked. Kyuhyun went a little stiff at the mention Siwon. Changmin hoped that things weren’t bad.

 

“Surprisingly well”, replied Kyuhyun after taking a sip of his wine.

 

“He feels guilty about what happened that day. He is trying to do right by me”, he added gravely.

 

“Does he know anything about your past at all”, asked Changmin bluntly.

 

Kyuhyun’s face twisted like he was feeling uncomfortable answering the question. He finally shook his head in response.

 

“Do you ever plan on telling him”, pushed Changmin.

 

Kyuhyun was quite miffed at the question, he replied, “I have told you...”

 

Changmin cut in, having no patience to listen to the same reason again, “Aren’t you tired of living scared like this? If he is trying to do right by you then maybe you should give him the same courtesy”

 

“You can sit there and preach because you married a saint of a man. Some of us aren’t that lucky”, shot back Kyuhyun.

 

“But you have done nothing wrong. You didn’t know you were going to end up married to him”, argued Changmin

 

“You think logic prevails at the mention of your name? Believe me, I have lost mine a couple of times”, countered Kyuhyun, seeming agitated. Changmin was about to argue but he noticed their waiter walking towards them so he kept quiet.

 

“Excuse me, Sirs”, the waiter said with a polite smile before he served the food Kyuhyun had ordered and placed the bag containing Changmin’s order.

 

“You are not eating here”, asked Kyuhyun, surprised at the bag.

 

“Yunho is working late, tonight. And, he says he would eat but I know he doesn’t when he is alone”, mumbled Changmin absently before he signed on the dotted line.

 

“So, you are going to be a doting husband, bring him food and feed him with your hands”, taunted Kyuhyun. Changmin had had enough of this crap!

 

“Yah..Kyu”, called out Changmin. Kyuhyun looked at him, raising a brow, unapologetically.

 

“Why do things have to be like this between us”, asked Changmin

 

“I don’t know, you tell me. I see a man living a life that should have been mine, you think I am wrong feeling bitter about it”, shot back Kyuhyun.

 

“Maybe you should take a look at the life you have”, countered Changmin shutting the file. Kyuhyun looked pissed at that statement.

 

“It’s not a bad one, is it”, said Changmin before he picked up his food and walked out of there.

 

* * *

 

 

“Back to your natural habitat, I see”, commented Heechul popping his head into Yunho’s office. It was already 10:30 pm, Yunho was the only one in the whole office. Heechul knew he would be working four times harder just because he took a long break from work.

 

Yunho broke into a smile seeing him and replied with sarcasm, “Yeah, shocker”

 

“What was more shocking was your company didn’t instantly disintegrate while you took a break. You always thought that it would”, said Heechul making himself comfortable on a chair.

 

“Well, what do you know, looks like I have got some capable employees”, added Yunho with much sass.

 

“You have changed, Yundol-ah”, remarked Heechul with a scoff.

 

“Why”, asked Yunho puzzled.

 

“Too much sass. You have been spending way too much time with that husband of yours”, complained Heechul.

 

Yunho pursed his lips trying to hide his smile. He did spend some ‘real quality’ time with Changmin. God, everytime he thought about it, he got distracted. There was a reason why he was still behind on paperwork even though he had already put in 12 hours.

 

“Look at that smile, should the world prepare for Jung Jr”, teased Heechul.

 

“Are you done”, asked Yunho, shaking his head at Heechul.

 

“No, it’s what you deserve after leaving me alone to deal with stuff, here”, whined Heechul.

 

“What stuff”, asked Yunho, confused. Heechul winced like he hadn’t meant to say that. That triggered Yunho’s memory, Heechul had sounded shifty on the phone, too. Something was up.

 

“What is it”, asked Yunho, a bit wary. Heechul sighed and run his hands through his face. That wasn’t a good sign at all. there was hardly anything in this world that stressed heechul.

 

“Listen, do you want to come out bowling, tomorrow”, Heechul asked, finally.

 

“Sure, but why do you seem so worried about that”, egged on Yunho.

 

Heechul winced once again. He cleared his throat and said, “There is something...”

 

A knock on Yunho’s door interrupted them.

 

“Can’t imagine who it could be, it’s late”, remarked Yunho, perplexed.

 

“Somebody probably crazy like you”, taunted Heechul.

 

“Please, come in”, called out Yunho. The door was pushed open light as Changmin entered the room, doing his best Bambi impression.

 

“Changdol”, Yunho’s eyes lit up as he immediately got up from his chair.

 

“I am not interrupting, am I”, Changmin asked as soon as he noticed Heechul, his eyes going wider. Yunho wanted to kiss him, right then.

 

Changmin bowed to greet Heechul. Heechul acknowledged him with a tight smile.

 

“I just wanted to drop off dinner, you guys can carry on”, said Changmin before he placed a bag on the table at the corner and swiftly turned towards the door.

 

“Wait”, called out Yunho stopping Changmin in his tracks.

 

“How did you know I hadn’t eaten”, asked Yunho with a smile.

 

“Well, I know you, that’s how”, retorted Changmin.

 

“I was about to order food”, defended Yunho.

 

“Sure”, said Changmin skeptically.

 

“Don’t patronize me”, shot back Yunho.

 

“Get a room, you two”, scoffed Heechul getting up from his chair. He couldn’t take anymore of this disgusting flirting that was going on in front of him. He walked towards the door.

 

“Hyung”, called out Yunho at Heechul’s abrupt exit.

 

“I will see you, tomorrow”, waved off Heechul.

 

“And both of you, eat something before you start banging”, he added before he left. Changmin just froze, his eyes bugging out at that like a deer caught in headlights.

 

“He is always talking trash like that”, waved off Yunho. Changmin shook his head and took started unpacking the food.

 

“Ahh... this all nice”, remarked Yunho, the dishes looked expensive. yunho took a peek at the name of restaurant on the bag.

 

“Ohh... this place is quite far”, exclaimed Yunho.

 

“I had a meeting there”, said Changmin focusing completely on serving both of them food. Changmin felt bad that he had to hide about who and why he was at the restaurant.

 

“Still it’s quite a drive from there, you shouldn’t have”, said Yunho settling on the couch.

 

“I wouldn’t have to if you took your health seriously”, retorted Changmin flipping his bang away from eyes. Somehow, that made Changmin seem a bit intimidating.

 

“Hey, I will have you known, I keep enough sustenance handy”, countered Yunho.

 

“Candy bars are not sustenance”, shot back Changmin.

 

Yunho immediately shut his mouth, flustered. Damn, how did Changmin know that he kept chocolates in his desk drawer. There was nothing that the Omega didn’t know about him.

 

“How much longer do you plan on staying”, asked Changmin already starting on his food.

 

“I will shut it all down, right now if you want me to”, answered Yunho with a smirk trying to draw a reaction out of his husband.

 

“I have noticed your cheesiness has quadrupled over time”, remarked Changmin.

 

“I think you bring it out in me”, countered Yunho with a smirk.

 

“Now, it’s my fault”, argued Changmin. Yunho saw the chance and immediately swooped in for a kiss. He licked at Changmin’s bottom lips sensually before he pulled back.

 

“Yah”, chided Changmin hitting him on his chest, his ears turning red.

 

“There was sauce on your face”, lied Yunho.

 

“No, there wasn’t”, said Changmin narrowing his eyes. Yunho came closer for another kiss but Changmin pushed him away.

 

“Eat”, he ordered. Yunho pouted and stuffed himself with food. Changmin was quite bossy.

 

* * *

 

 

“Thank you for inviting me to dinner”, said Jongin with a nervous smile. It was the first time ever that Taemin’s mother had formally invited him over for a dinner. He had been over here multiple times as Taemin’s friend. But this time he could feel it was different, he was here as a future son-in-law.

 

“You are always taking care of Taemin, this is the least I could do”, said Taemin’s mother with a tight smile.

 

She turned to her son and said, “Taemin-ah, you should seriously at least learn the basics of cooking. What will happen to you after Jongin gets married”

 

Taemin started choking on the food he was trying to swallow. Jongin immediately handed him glass of water and thumped his back, hard. After a while, Taemin’s cough settled down.

“It’s not like Jongin can cook much either”, said Taemin before he continued drinking more water. Jongin wouldn’t stand for this slander, especially from someone like Taemin who couldn’t even boil water. Of course it wasn’t doing any favors to his standing in front of Taemin’s mother.

 

“I can make pasta”, countered Jongin.

 

“One dish”, taunted Taemin.

 

“Ramen, omelette, rice. Don’t forget that I grill the meat too”,argued Jongin.

 

“Hey, I season it”, defended Taemin. Taemin’s mother cleared her throat to get their attention.

 

“Even so, you should learn, you should be able to feed your future spouse and kids, Jongin’s not going to be in the picture then”, she said.

 

Jongin looked at Taemin, shocked. Taemin just drank some more of the water.

 

Taemin’s mother continued, “That reminds me, there is a lovely young man I wanted to set you up with. His name is...”

 

“Mom, you know I am with Jongin”, cut in Taemin before his mother could say any further.

 

Taemin’s mother sighed at that and asked, “You both are still not on that, are you”

 

“Sorry”, asked Jongin, completely confused the whole thing.

 

“Tell me, Jongin. Do you see yourself marrying Taemin in the future”, asked Taemin’s mother directing a cold and serious gaze at him.

 

“I do”, replied Jongin earnestly. Taemin looked a little taken aback by his answer.

 

“Really ? And is your father onboard with this”, asked Taemin’s mother.

 

Taemin tried to stop that line of inquiry, “Mom...”

 

“No, he isn’t”, replied Jongin cutting Taemin off.

 

“If you don’t mind me asking, your father only has you, right? You don’t have siblings and your mother...”, she trailed off not finding the right words.

 

Taemin was about to interrupt when Jongin reached out and squeezed his hand lightly.

 

“She passed away when I was 10”, he said meeting Taemin’s mothers gaze.

 

“Surely, you don’t want to burn bridges with him over this”, she said with a shrug.

 

“No one is burning any bridges”, interjected Taemin.

 

“So then what are you guys doing together”, asked Taemin’s mother, sounding a bit tired.

 

Taemin and Jongin just looked at each other confused.

 

“This is real life, you are not going to make everybody happy. People are not going to change their minds and come around for one big happy ending. When you make a decision, you are going to hurt some people and live with its consequences”, she explained.

 

“I am aware of it”, responded Jongin.

 

“Are you really willing to give up your only familial tie for Taemin”, she asked bluntly.

 

“No, I won’t stand for it”, shot back Taemin.

 

“Yes”, said Jongin with conviction. Taemin looked at him like he had lost his marbles or something.

 

“Looks like you both have a lot to talk about”, remarked Taemin’s mother before his ceased the inquiry and concentrated on her food.

 

Jongin looked at Taemin, he was itching to ask Taemin what he meant when he said that he won’t stand for it. But they would have to wait until the dinner was over.

 

* * *

 

After dinner, Taemin and Jongin had taken over the cleaning duties. Jongin was washing the dishes and Taemin was in charge of drying them. After a few moments of silence where Jongin concentrated solely on getting the suds out, Taemin finally broke it.

 

“I will never ask you to choose between me and your father”, he said.

 

“It was always a choice. And, I kept choosing my father for the past 7 years. Choked my feelings until I couldn’t breathe anymore, hurt you”, countered Jongin.

 

Taemin was quick to jump in defense, “You didn’t...”

 

“Really”, cut in Jongin and Taemin looked away from him. It was true, Taemin was hurt with Jongin going on dates that his father had set for him.

 

“I am done making decisions just to make others happy”, said Jongin with an air of finality. Taemin was proud of him for making such a brave decision. He moved in and hugged the Alpha from behind and placed his head on the crook of his neck.

 

After a few quiet moments, Taemin heard, “Let’s get married”

 

“What”, exclaimed Taemin moving away from Jongin, it was all very sudden.

 

“It’s the best solution to all of this”, explained Jongin.

 

“Solution”, repeated Taemin not quite believing what he was hearing.

 

“It will lay your mother’s fears to rest and my father will have to stop denying our relationship and deal with it”, said Jongin fervently.

 

“That’s why you want to marry me”, asked Taemin, sounding a bit hurt. It made Jongin unsure. He thought Taemin and him had talked over the whole dating thing, he thought Taemin loved him and was with him for the long haul.

 

“Do you... not want to”, faltered Jongin.

 

“Think about what you’ve said and get back to me”, snapped Taemin before walked out of the kitchen in anger leaving a confused and hurt Alpha behind.

 

* * *

 

“Kyu”, called out Siwon to get his husband’s attention.

 

“‘sup”, asked Kyu looking up from his Ipad.

 

“Can I borrow your phone ? My phone ran out of charge and I can’t find my charger. I have got to get on a call, urgently”, said Siwon.

 

“Sure”, said Kyuhyun with a shrug and handed him over his phone after swiftly unlocking it. Siwon moved to his office to make the call. The call lasted for half an hour but at least most of the things had been sorted out. After Siwon disconnected, he noticed Kyu’s call log, it read ‘Chwang’. Curiosity getting the better of him, Siwon clicked on the contact, the number was a familiar one. Siwon could recite it from his memory, that was Changmin’s phone number.

When Siwon was trying to get to the text messages when he accidentally hit on the email. And the latest email was from ‘Shim Changmin’. What in the world was going on ? He quickly opened  the email, it had an attachment and nothing else. He wasted no time in opening the attachment.

 

Siwon was baffled at the first few sentences, what in the hell was this? As he continued, the whole thing became more lewd. It was basically describing how Kyuhyun felt when he had sex. By the end of it, Siwon’s blood was boiling, he was starting to lose all his sense.

 

He angrily searched for other messages by Changmin in the email and he hit a jackpot in the ‘Sent’ messages. It was a very old one, titled ‘Birthday pictures’. When he opened there were pictures of him and Changmin in there. Changmin’s hair was long, his left bang was covering his eye. this had to be back in college. He scrolled through the pictures most of them were innocuous ones just Changmin with the balloons and Kyuhyun blowing the candles. He froze when he came across a selfie of Kyu and Changmin. Changmin was kissing Kyu on his left cheek while Kyu looked smugly at the camera. Siwon’s grip tightened on the phone, he wanted smash it. He has been such a fool!  

 

“Are you done”, suddenly Kyuhyun’s voice interrupted his train of thoughts. Kyuhyun stopped in his tracks when he saw Siwon visibly seething in anger.

 

“You have played me so well”, said Siwon turning the screen towards Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun’s eyes grew wide in panic.

 

“It’s not what you think it is”, he was quick to defend.

 

“Really ? So, Shim Changmin isn’t kissing you in this picture”, said Siwon accosting him.

 

“That is a really old picture”, explained Kyuhyun, fear evident in his voice.

 

“But this email is new isn’t it”, asked Siwon opening the email. Kyuhyun just froze, how could he have lost the plot so badly!

 

He pulled himself and replied, “Yes, but the song, it was written years ago back when...”

 

“You were dating him”, spat out Siwon.

 

“Did you two have a good laugh when I bared my soul that other day ? All these years I went crazy thinking why wouldn’t he look at me. It was because of you”, shouted Siwon, Kyuhyun couldn’t stop himself from flinching.

 

“I didn’t even know you knew Changmin until that day. And after that I was too scared to tell you anything”, confessed Kyuhyun deciding to lay it all out in front of Siwon.

 

“Scared ? You both never planned to spill anything and keep up your affair, laughing at fools like me and Yunho”, shot back Siwon, viciously.

 

“What! No! Changmin and me broke up a long time ago. Long before I accepted your proposal”, defended Siwon, desperately.

 

“How dumb do you think I am ? This email is right here”, shot back Siwon.

 

“I told you it’s an old song”, repeated Kyuhyun, not knowing what else he could say to explain.

 

“Ok, then why was it sent to you recently”, demanded Siwon.

 

“It was a song Changmin had written a long time ago but it never made it to my album. This time the concept demanded songs like these so I wanted to use it. For legal purposes I had Changmin send me an email with the lyrics as an attachment, you can ask my lawyer”, explained Kyuhyun, panic evident in his voice.

 

“I don’t trust a single thing that comes out of your mouth”, spat back Siwon. Kyuhyun was running out of options. There was no reasoning with this guy.

 

“Fucking Changmin, he probably planned this a long time ago”, cursed Siwon, his temper rising.

 

“Changmin has nothing to do with this”, defended Kyuhyun.

 

“Don’t”, said Siwon putting his hand out. That shut Kyuhyun up real quick.

 

“Don’t even utter his name”, warned Siwon before he walked towards the entrance.

 

“Siwon”, called out Kyuhyun before deciding to follow him.

 

* * *

 

Yunho was lazing around in his boxers on a quiet Sunday morning when he heard the buzzer going off. Someone was trying to get in. Yunho turned on the security cam and it seemed to be Siwon and his husband.

 

“Siwon”, said Yunho to himself before buzzing him in.

 

“Yunho if you are letting someone in, at least wear some pants”, said Changmin from the laundry room. Seriously, Changmin’s nagging has reached to a new high.

 

“I am in my boxers”, retorted Yunho. Soon enough, Changmin appeared near the couch and warned him, “Pants, now”

 

“Yes, mom”, Yunho muttered under his breath before he got up from the couch and walked towards their bedroom to change. Changmin heard the knock on their door. It must the person Yunho had buzzed in.

 

When Changmin looked through the peephole, he was surprised to see Siwon. Changmin immediately threw the door open.

 

“Siwon”, he exclaimed.

 

Siwon got right up in his face, “You think you are so smart”

 

Changmin had to take a couple of steps back in trepidation.

 

“Calm down”, Changmin heard Kyuhyun before he stepped in behind Siwon.

 

“Shut up”, shouted Siwon turning to Kyuhyun. Changmin did not like that at all!

 

“What do you want”, snapped Changmin.

 

“You thought you would have an affair with my husband and I wouldn’t find out”, gritted out Siwon.

 

“It’s too early to be that wasted”, retorted Changmin. Seriously, what was this guy on ?

 

“I saw the pictures”, shot back Siwon. Changmin had no idea what was going on.

 

“What pictures”, Changmin turned as he heard Yunho’s confused voice.

 

Siwon answered, “Yunho, this bitch...”

 

“Watch your mouth”, warned Yunho coming up beside Changmin.

 

“You have been fooled, everything I warned you about, is happening”, exclaimed Siwon.

 

“What”, exclaimed Changmin. Had Siwon being talking shit about him to Yunho ?

 

“Our dear husbands are fucking behind our backs”, spat out Siwon.

 

“What”, asked Yunho, extremely baffled by the accusation.

 

Siwon pushed Kyuhyun’s phone into Yunho’s hands. It had a picture of Changmin kissing Kyuhyun on his cheek, Yunho had to immediately look away otherwise he knew that he would break something.

 

“These pictures are from a long time back”, said Kyuhyun. Yunho fucking knew that but he didn’t want to hear from anyone, he only wanted to hear from the only person that mattered.

 

“Min-ah”, he said. Changmin looked at him with anxious eyes.

 

“You know Kyuhyun”, asked Yunho.

 

“The evidence is right in front of you”, scoffed Siwon. Yunho just wanted him to shut up.

 

Changmin pursed his lips in a tight line and nodded.

 

“He is the ex-boyfriend that I had told you about”, he said. Suddenly everything clicked in Yunho’s head.

 

_We started dating after a while. We kept it a secret. His career was such that his image had to be that of a single and unattached guy_

 

_He got into financial troubles and then his only way out was a marriage of convenience_

 

“You..”, said Yunho turning to Kyuhyun. It was him at the bachelor’s party.

 

“You were at the bachelor’s party that day, the one who wouldn’t go away without a drink”, uttered Yunho.

 

“What are you saying”, asked Siwon confused.

 

That wasn’t one of his proudest moments so Kyuhyun just looked down and nodded silently.

 

Siwon lost his patience and snatched the phone away from Yunho’s hand. he opened up the incriminating email and showed it to Yunho.

 

“Don’t fall for his doe-eyed bullshit. This their latest email”, said Siwon. Yunho took hold of the phone and read the attachment. Changmin looked at Kyuhyun confused.

 

“That song”, hinted Kyuhyun.

 

“I wrote that song, years ago. Kyu wanted to use it for his new album, I was legally signing away the rights to it”, Changmin desperately tried to explain even before Yunho could finish reading.

 

Yunho’s patience was already being tested by the lyrics of the song and now hearing that nickname ‘Kyu’ roll off Changmin’s tongue so casually filled him with inexplicable jealousy.

 

“Changmin is telling the truth, my lawyer can confirm it”, said Kyuhyun, backing Changmin up.

 

“You seriously expect anyone to believe that bullshit”, shot back Siwon at Kyuhyun.

 

“I do”, said Yunho with conviction.

 

Siwon clicked his tongue in frustration, he said, “Yunho, c’mon...”

 

“I have no reason to doubt my husband”, Yunho cut him off before he could finish his sentence. He simply gave the phone back to Kyuhyun. Changmin looked at Yunho stunned.

 

“For once stop thinking with your dick”, goaded Siwon.

 

“For once use your head, Siwon”, clapped back Yunho.

 

“You think people serenade each other through emails ? Check their talk”, suggested Yunho.

 

Kyuhyun handed over his phone once again to Siwon. He opened his kakaotalk messages with Changmin. The conversations were around the legal rights of a song that Changmin had written, it matched up to the explanation both Changmin and Kyuhyun had been giving.

 

“This doesn’t prove anything”, said Siwon far too proud to admit his mistake.

 

“Were the texts sent before or after the email”, asked Yunho.

 

“Before”, said Siwon sheepishly.

 

“I think that’s your proof”, concluded Yunho.

 

“If that was the case then why did you not tell me about you and Changmin, in the first place”, said Siwon directing his anger at Kyuhyun.

 

“Because I feared that you would react like you have reacted today”, retorted Kyuhyun, he had had enough of this whole drama, too!

 

Siwon turned to the bane of his existence, Shim Changmin.

 

“You... how long have you been laughing at my expense”, asked Siwon angered.

 

“I never cared enough to even mock you ”, shot back Changmin unkindly.

 

“Changmin”, warned Kyuhyun, there was no need to antagonize Siwon anymore!

 

Yunho had had enough of these strangers standing in his house and raising their voices at his husband.

 

“This has all been wonderful but I will have to ask you to leave. You know where the door is”, said Yunho.

 

When Siwon didn’t look like he was going to move anytime soon, Yunho called out to him, “Siwon”

 

“I still consider you a friend so I urge you to rethink this whole thing when you have sufficiently calmed down”, said Yunho gravely. But somehow those words seemed to have infuriated Siwon even more.

 

“You are making a huge mistake, this..”, Siwon trailed off as he tried to get in up on Changmin’s space. Yunho immediately placed himself between Changmin and Siwon.

 

“Please refrain from accosting Changmin ever again or I will have a restraining order issued”, warned Yunho.

 

At this point, Kyuhyun pulled Siwon back and the both walked away. Yunho went ahead and locked the door. When he turned back, Changmin was standing still in his spot, looking pale.

 

“You know me, I would never...”, Changmin couldn’t finish his sentence as he choked up.

 

Yunho really just had one question in all of this.

 

“Were you ever going to tell me”, he asked.

 

Changmin’s silence gave him the answer. Fuck, that hurt! Yunho turned away from Changmin.

 

“It wasn’t my secret to tell”, he heard Changmin say.

 

“I see”, said Yunho absently, walking towards their bedroom.

 

“What’s with that tone”, demanded Changmin following Yunho.

 

“Forget it”, said Yunho before moving to the closet.

 

“Don’t walk away from me like that”, warned Changmin. And Changmin’s tone made Yunho lose it.

 

“Like what”, snapped Yunho.

 

“You are itching to say something just say it. No need to suppress it for my benefit”, goaded Changmin.

 

“What do you want me to say ? That I am hurt that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me the truth ? ”, asked Yunho.

 

“We never owed each other our pasts”, shot back Changmin.

 

“You think I don’t fucking know that. Just because I fell in love with you doesn’t mean that this relationship would change”, retorted Yunho, his voice rising.

 

“Then what are you so upset about”, asked Changmin raising his own voice.

 

“Because I am just that stupid, Changmin-ah! My heart doesn’t listen to what my head already knows”, answered Yunho. Changmin is just dumbfounded by the answer, that wasn’t what he had expected.

 

“I understand why you did what you did but I can’t help but feel betrayed that you chose to protect him rather than trust me”, expanded Yunho.

 

“I..”, Changmin trailed off not knowing what to say.

 

Yunho ran his hands through his face and said, “I understand, you have known him forever, you have hardly known me for a year. I understand how trust works”

 

“You think I would put Kyu over you”, asked Changmin feeling insulted.

 

“You have already done that”, responded Yunho looking into his eyes. Changmin could clearly see the hurt in Yunho’s eyes, he hated that he was the one that put that there.

 

“I don’t blame you, it’s on me. I just need some time to get over it“, said Yunho picking up his wallet. He walked towards the door leaving Changmin standing like a statue in the middle of their bedroom.

 

Once he reached the door, he turned and called out, “Min-ah”

 

Changmin looked at him, his eyes welling up.

 

“Please don’t cry”, said Yunho before he turned away and left. It was too late, tears had already escaped.

 

* * *

 

Yunho had come over to bowling place earlier than when he had planned to meet Heechul. He just had to get out of his house. His blood was still boiling over the pictures and the song. Changmin just hitting him with the fact that they didn’t owe each other anything was just like a kick in the ribs. Why did he end up like this again ? Sad, miserable and desperately in love.

 

“Can I get you anything”, the guy at the counter interrupted his train of thoughts.

 

“Iced-choco with extra cream”, a voice came from behind. Yunho would recognize that anywhere, it’s a voice he hasn’t heard in years!

 

“Unless your tastes have changed”, and just like that Hojun was there standing beside him leaning on the counter with his kind smile that had made Yunho fall for him all those years ago.

 

Yunho didn’t even register the guy at the counter accepting the order, he was too busy figuring out if he was dreaming.

 

“Hojun... why”, Yunho uttered.

 

Hojun twisted his face at that, “What kind of a question is that”

 

“How long have you been back”, asked Yunho,

 

“A month. You were away, in Spain”, Hojun looked away from him at the mention of Spain.

 

“Why after all these years”, asked Yunho. There were too many questions in his mind.

 

“I got a good job offer, here”, replied Hojun with a tight smile.

 

“It’s hard to believe you didn’t get good job offers before”, retorted Yunho.

 

“Sir, your drink”, the guy was back with his drink.

 

“Let’s move to the reserved lane”, said Hojun with a smile. Yunho still wasn’t sure if he was dreaming.

 

* * *

 

“Heechul hyung asked me to come here so we could meet. I guess, he didn’t tell you”, said Hojun taking a seat.

 

Yunho was reminded of all the times that Heechul had clammed up on him recently.

 

“Guess, he never got a chance”, reasoned Yunho.

 

“Still busy as ever ? I thought you would have changed after marriage. Your husband doesn’t complain about it ? ”, asked Hojun, a bit curious.

 

The topic of Changmin was like a swift kick on his ribs once again.

 

“No”, Yunho replied distracted. Hojun found his reaction a bit odd but didn’t say anything about it.

 

“You have gotten old”, said Hojun. The Yunho he knew was dressed up in hoodies, living on energy drinks and Ramen. The man before him was different, his eyes looked tired, there was some wistfulness in them. Not to mention, he was a Duke now. The biggest change was definitely the ring on his finger, it kept catching Hojun’s eyes.

 

“You still look the same”, said Yunho, always being as kind as Hojun remembered him.

 

“That’s ‘coz you are biased but I have gotten old too” shot back Hojun. Yunho just could not believe that they were both just sitting here and having their drinks like the man didn’t break Yunho’s heart, years ago.

 

“All these years, you never once visited”, asked Yunho.

 

“My parents, they visited me in Canada. I never quite got enough time off from work to visit”, replied Hojun looking away from Yunho.

 

“And now”, prompted Yunho.

 

“I am on my Sabbatical, now. My parents wanted me here”, said Hojun still looking away from Yunho.

 

“So, you are saying that the career that was so important to you, you are finally settling for something less than the best”, asked Yunho bluntly.

 

“Priorities change”, said Hojun wringing his hands together.

 

Yunho broke into a bitter laughter. Hojun looked at him, worried.

 

“Some years ago, this is all that I had ever wanted to hear”, said Yunho after catching his breath.

 

“Yunho”, said Hojun to get the Alpha’s attention. Yunho just scoffed and sipped on his drink.

 

“I am sorry”, said Hojun, feeling guilty.

 

“Don’t be. You are free to do whatever you want with your life”, said Yunho with a shrug.

 

“You don’t care”, asked Hojun, sounding a little hurt.

 

“Even if I did, it’s not my place to say anything”, replied Yunho.

 

“I didn’t know you could be cold”, retorted Hojun.

 

“Time changes people”, said Yunho with a shrug.

 

“Yunho-yah, are you going to be like this ? We have met after so many years”, Hojun used is soft soothing voice which was Yunho’s kryptonite.

 

Yunho kept sipping on his drink with a pout pretending that he wasn’t affected. Hojun had always found it endearing.

 

“Would you at least visit the amusement park ? For old time sake ?”, asked Hojun. When Yunho looked at Hojun, there was so much doubt and hope in his face that he couldn’t say no.

 

* * *

 

Changmin felt like he should apologize to Yunho. That in turn made him even more angry, he really had no reason to apologize to Yunho. They never owed anything to each other. Just because Yunho had feelings for him didn’t mean that Changmin owed it to him to reveal every single thing in his life.

 

Yunho had no right to look so hurt. No right to make Changmin worry over him, make him sit on the couch and look at the door hoping he would pop in any time now. Changmin had used the eye-packs to reduce the puffiness around his eyes, he couldn’t let Yunho know that Changmin had cried over him. It was stupid, none of it was his fault why should he be the one crying ?

 

Changmin noticed the door being unlocked, he immediately looked away and picked up a book and pretended to be engrossed in it. Yunho walked in. Changmin expected Yunho to break the silence, first. After all the man couldn’t last a few seconds without blabbering about something.

 

Yunho itched to tell Changmin about the fact that he had met Hojun. But would Changmin even care? There was a good chance that all he would get out of Changmin would be a shrug. Yunho didn’t know if could take anymore of such cold reactions from Changmin today so he quietly made his way towards the bedroom.

Changmin was surprised when Yunho went straight to their bedroom, he didn’t even greet him. Changmin waited for him to come out but he didn’t. After a good 15 minutes, Changmin gave up and went into the bedroom. Yunho seemed to be engrossed in his Ipad.

 

“I made dinner”, said Changmin trying to get Yunho’s attention.

 

“I already ate”, replied Yunho, looking a bit apologetic.

 

“Good”, said Changmin apathetically before he walked out of the room. Fuck this shit, he was hungry. What was he thinking, waiting up for Yunho, this wasn’t the 1950s!

 

* * *

 

“You are an idiot”, said Changmin shaking his head at Jongin.

 

Changmin had come over to Jongin to talk about narrating his own book. Yunho had told him about it in Spain that he wished that Changmin would narrate his own book. Changmin had no qualms in doing it if that was what made Yunho happy. After they had finalized that, Jongin had broken down and told him why Taemin was avoiding him once again.

 

“Don’t sugarcoat it or anything”, retorted Jongin sarcastically.

 

“You don’t ask someone to get married to you just to shut everyone up. That’s fucked up”, said Changmin.

 

“What should I do”, asked Jongin, sounding tired.

 

“Be patient and weather the storm. It’s not like Taemin is leaving you or something”, replied Changmin.

 

“If I wait for them to come around, we will never get anywhere”, said Jongin shaking his head.

 

“And where exactly do you want to ‘get’ to”, egged on Changmin.

 

“I want to marry him. I want him to be mine. Is it so wrong to want to be with the person you love?”, asked Jongin agitated.

 

“It’s not. But maybe you should have said that instead of telling him to get married to defy your parents”, replied Changmin. Something suddenly clicked in Jongin’s mind

 

_“Think about what you’ve said and get back to me”_

 

“I am an idiot”, said Jongin slapping himself on the forehead.

 

“Look, we are going to the amusement park, tomorrow”. said Changmin. Jongin looked at him confused.

 

“Don’t ask. Taemin was appalled that I hadn’t been to a single amusement park in years and was writing books for kids. It’s a stupid excuse, I think he wanted to go but couldn’t get you to come with”, explained Changmin.

 

“Show up there, patch it up with him”, said Changmin before he got up and left Jongin’s office.

 

* * *

 

Now that both Taemin and Jongin were in the amusement park together, Changmin wondered if it was a wise decision to get into couple’s counseling at all.

 

“What are you doing here”, asked Taemin, pissed.

 

“This is a public place”, replied Jongin with a shrug.

 

“I called him, if you can drag me here, I can drag him here too”, interjected Changmin. And that was that but after a while another fight broke out when Jongin tried to eat snacks.

 

“Buy your own snacks”, said Taemin taking the chips packet with him.

 

“I don’t see your name written on this”, said Jongin unbothered.

 

“I am holding it so it’s mine”, claimed Taemin.

 

“I paid for it. Can’t you kids just share”, snapped Changmin and both of them just instantly shut up. Changmin wondered if that was what a ‘Dad voice’ was.

 

But somehow it got worse for him from here. Changmin has no idea why Taemin or Jongin would ever visit an amusement  park ? They wanted to get on every roller coasters but were deathly afraid of any kind of drops. They would make Changmin sit in the middle and grab onto his arms from both sides when any kind of drops happened. Changmin was pretty sure that his arms were bruising. He breathed a sigh of relief when they went into a water ride.

 

Especially this one which just has you sit on the ride and water canons are shot at you. Changmin had already gotten on his ride and was putting on the poncho when he noticed a couple of people who were getting into the ride just behind them. That was Yunho!

 

“You are not going to wear the poncho”, asked Hojun before getting on the ride.

 

“It’s no fun if you don’t get wet”, said Yunho with a grin.

 

Even without that distinctive voice, Changmin could have identified Yunho. Yunho was just someone who would always stand out among a crowd.

 

“You haven’t changed, even a bit”, Changmin heard Yunho’s companion telling him.

 

“You love it”, Yunho shot back before breaking into his trademark laughter. Changmin didn’t realize but his hands had been clenched into a tight fist.

 

Changmin observed as Yunho got on the ride and extended his hand to support his companion while he was getting on the ride. That’s when Changmin saw his face clearly. It couldn’t be but Changmin was pretty sure that guy looked a lot like Hojun. But... Yunho would tell him, right?

 

Yunho suddenly looked at Changmin’s ride. Changmin immediately looked away and pulled the hood of the poncho, tighter. Last thing he needs is to run into Yunho and have Yunho think that he was following him.

 

A small splash of water hits him. Changmin turned to see that Jongin and Taemin were already splashing at each other. Changmin didn’t think he could make it till the fireworks in the evening.

 

* * *

 

After the water ride, Jongin and Taemin had wanted to go on the ferris wheel which was a perfect opportunity for Changmin to ditch the lovebirds. He had some peace and quiet sitting in a corner booth of the 70s themed diner. Changmin was just sitting there thinking about the possibility of the guy being Hojun and the implications of the fact that Yunho didn’t tell him about it.

 

Another pair of guests took the booth right behind him.

 

“Your hair still isn’t properly dried”, Changmin heard one of them say. He really should move he didn’t have the patience to tolerate other people’s chatter.

 

“It will dry out in the sun”

 

Changmin froze, that was Yunho. Why in the world would they choose to come here and take up this booth specifically ? Changmin couldn’t even get up and leave otherwise Yunho would see him.

 

Changmin heard not-Yunho burst into laughter.

 

“What”, asked Yunho confused.

 

“I can see through your shirt”, said Hojun.

 

What the hell, did this guy not know that Yunho was married, thought Changmin, pissed off.

 

“Watch everyone in the immediate vicinity approach you, it always kept happening when we used to go out”, reminisced Hojun.

 

Changmin didn’t know why but it pinched him a bit now that it was confirmed that the guy was Hojun. There was no other guy that Yunho used to go out with.

 

Yunho on the other hand was reminded of Tokyo. Of how Changmin had been pissed about the girls on the train talking to him. What would he not give to draw such a reaction out of Changmin, it was much better than the apathetic shrugs he had been getting lately.

 

“Yunho-yah”, Hojun’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

 

“Sorry, it’s just that a similar thing happened when I was in Tokyo with Changmin”, said Yunho. Changmin froze at the mention of his name.

 

“Your husband”, asked Hojun looking away from Yunho.

 

“He has a pretty name, right”, said Yunho an unbidden smile appearing on his face.

 

“Does he know you are here with me”, asked Hojun.

 

“No”, said Yunho with a sigh.

 

“Why” asked Hojun baffled. Changmin waited with baited breath for the answer.

 

“I don’t think he would care”, came the response.

 

And that just fucking hurt. Like Changmin could ever forget how hurt Yunho was when he had told him about Hojun. Did he really think that lowly of Changmin that he wouldn’t care about something so important to Yunho ? Apparently, not saying ‘I love you’ now equated to being a heartless person.

 

Hojun wanted to say something about Changmin after Yunho’s response but he didn’t know how Yunho would take it so he decided against it.

 

Hojun cleared his throat to get Yunho’s attention.

 

“Yesterday, you asked me why I had decided to comeback after so many years. And, I said it was because of my parents”, said Hojun. Yunho nodded in response

 

“I wasn’t entirely honest with you”, confessed Hojun. Yunho looked at him, perplexed.

 

“All these years, I had moments of weaknesses where I just wanted leave everything and come back to you. When you were going to marry So Young, it hit me how difficult it was for me to accept that you had moved on”, said Hojun, his eyes fixated on the table.

 

“Did you leave to those blank messages”, asked Yunho.

 

“Like I said, it was a moment of weakness”, replied Hojun.

 

“When you broke up with her, I hated the fact that it made me happy. It took me months to come to terms with the fact that I was still very much in love with you”, confessed Hojun, his eyes welling up.

 

“Why didn’t you reach out to me”, demanded Yunho.

 

“I had to square off things in Canada before I could come back here and tell you anything”, replied Hojun.

 

“You didn’t have to, you could have contacted me. I would have waited for you”, insisted to Yunho.

 

“You had come out of a broken relationship, how shameless do you think I am”, shot back Hojun.

 

“By the time, everything came together, you suddenly got engaged to the Duke’s son. And, that just stopped me cold”, continued Hojun.

 

“Then you got married in a matter of weeks, I never even had a chance”, said Hojun, his voice breaking a bit.

 

Changmin just sat there shell-shocked. He was trying to process the information that had Yunho not proposed to him, he could have had the love of his life back. But Hojun was back and still very much in love with Yunho. Where did that leave Changmin, now ?

 

“Then why come here, now”, Yunho’s question surprised Changmin. Changmin had expected some elation or joy but it sounded like Yunho wasn’t thrilled about the fact the Hojun was still in love with him.

 

“Closure, I suppose. If I see you happy and contented with your life then maybe. Maybe I can get over you”, replied Hojun with his beautiful smile.

 

Yunho used to believe that Hojun had the best smile on earth. But now all he could think of is how he hadn’t seen Changmin’s eyes go mismatched in a week, he wished he could make Changmin smile more.

 

 

* * *

 

Taemin and Jongin were watching the beautiful sunset in silence from the ferris wheel. The silence wasn’t a comfortable one though.

 

Jongin just went for the broke and said, “I am sorry”

 

“You should be”, replied Taemin not looking at Jongin. Jongin waited for him to turn or at least say something but they went back to the deafening silence.

 

But after a while Taemin turned to Jongin and spoke up, “I want to know why you said it. Was it because of what Mom said”

 

“Partially”, admitted Jongin.

 

“What is it”, asked Taemin. Jongin sighed and massaged his forehead trying to figure out the best way to phrase his feelings all the while Taemin patiently waited.

 

“When Dad fired me, it was quite a shock”, said Jongin.

 

“I thought we would have disagreements even resentment but I didn’t know that he would completely cut me off. In a moment, I lost everything I had. Everything but you”, expanded Jongin.

 

It wasn’t hard to put two and two together.

 

“You are scared that I would leave you”, asked Taemin.

 

“Wouldn’t blame you. Less drama, less baggage. Let’s be honest I have put you through an emotional wringer ever since I met you”, said Jongin bitterly.

 

“I could say the same thing about myself. This drama and emotional stress you are talking of, I have at least contributed to 60 percent of it. Stop putting all the blame on yourself”, insisted Taemin. When Jongin  just shrugged in response, Taemin just went over to the other side of hugged Jongin tight. Jongin buried his face in the crook of his neck scenting him.

 

“Just so you know, I would marry you in a heartbeat, anytime”, said Taemin.

 

Suddenly, Jongin’s arms came around his waist and held him tightly. He could feel some wetness near his neck where Jongin’s eyelashes were ticking him.

 

“Are you crying”, asked Taemin.

 

“No”, came Jongin’s muffled reply.

 

* * *

 

 

Changmin fucking hated haunted houses. Hated it since he was a kid and his father lost him in one and he wound up crying straight up for half an hour until some kind staff came and escorted him out. This time he went in because Jongin and Taemin wanted to but both of them were too chicken-shit. Changmin as a hyung didn’t want to show any weakness so he went with them. But as soon as the first ghost spooked them, Taemin and Jongin took off on a separate direction than him. Now he is here, scared to death not knowing if he should be looking for Jongin and Taemin or if he should just get the hell out of here.

 

Fuck pride, he wished he would have chickened out earlier. He suddenly spotted a woman in white looking at him from a corner. Changmin felt paralyzed with fear. The lady suddenly started moving very fast towards him. Changmin started running but then another zombie jumped out. Changmin screamed and grabbed onto a nearby visitor who seemed unfazed by the whole thing.

 

“Changmin-ah”, he heard Yunho’s unmistakable voice in the dark. Just his luck, the person happened to be Yunho, who is extremely attuned to Changmin’s scent.

 

He then felt someone slowly pulling at his ankle and that spooked the hell out of him. Changmin hugged Yunho tightly absolutely sticking to him for safety.

 

“Get them away from me”, said Changmin.

 

“They are just people with masks and makeup”, said Yunho, still making soothing circles on Changmin’s back to calm him down.

 

“Shut up”, said Changmin squeezing the hell out of Yunho.

 

“Alright”, said Yunho wincing in pain. For a moment, they just stood there, Yunho indicating all the scarehouse staff to not scare them.

 

“Not that I am not enjoying it but we can either keep hugging or walking. And we need to walk if we want to get out of here”, said Yunho after some time had passed. Changmin very reluctantly pulled back from the hug and stuck completely to Yunho’s back until they got close to the end.

 

“I think this is the end”, said Yunho. Changmin breathed a sigh of relief and walked past Yunho to get to the exit. As soon as Changmin pulled the exit door, a zombie jumped out from it and scared the hell out of Changmin.Changmin screamed and came running back to Yunho and stuck to his back again.

 

Apparently, that exit was just a fake one. Yunho was able to locate the correct one and get them out.  

 

“Really ? Haunted house”, said Yunho failing to keep a straight face at the pure terror on Changmin’s face.

 

“It’s not funny”, said Changmin with a glare.

 

“It’s a little funny”, said Yunho giggling.

 

“Do you want to sleep on the couch tonight”, warned Changmin.

 

“Yunho”, a voice interrupted them. Changmin turned and there was Hojun in front of them.

 

“This is my...Changminnie”, Yunho said in a clumsy introduction. Hojun couldn’t help but frown a bit at the usage of ‘my’ but he recovered quickly to greet.

 

“Hi, I am Hojun. I am one of Yunho’s hyung he knew back in college”, said Hojun.

 

“Yunho has told me about you”, said Changmin hoping that it conveyed that Changmin knew that Hojun was Yunho’s ex.

 

“Hyung, we ...”, a voice abruptly stopped. Changmin turned to see Jongin and Taemin, apparently they had survived. Perfect time to make his escape.

 

Before Yunho could ask what he was doing here Changmin told Jongin and Taemin, “We should go, we need to catch the fireworks”

 

He goes to move away from Yunho but Yunho was still holding onto his hand. Changmin looked at him inquisitively.

 

“I could come with you”, said Yunho.

 

“You probably have other plans, I don’t want to intrude”, said Changmin pulling away his hand gently from Yunho’s grasp.

 

“You wanted to get churros, right”, Changmin said randomly to Taemin to avoid thinking about the kicked puppy look on Yunho’s face

 

“Yea, right”, said Taemin, playing along.

 

“Right”, parroted Jongin which was an overkill.

 

* * *

 

Hojun and Yunho were on the Ferris wheel, it was the perfect time to view the fireworks from the ferris wheel itself. But Yunho was distracted he was forlornly looking outside.

 

“How did you manage to do that”, asked Hojun snapping Yunho out from his thoughts.

 

“What”, asked Yunho not having any clue about the context of the question.

 

“Fall in love, again”, said Hojun with a kind smile.

 

Yunho just had no answer to that.

 

“I couldn’t, even when I desperately wanted to forget you”, said Hojun with some sadness in his eyes.

 

He soon recovered and said, “I was under the impression that yours was an arranged marriage but it’s very evident that you love him”

 

“I do”, said Yunho earnestly.

 

“But”, prompted Hojun.

 

“Why do you think there is a ‘but’”, asked Yunho.

 

“I recognize the look in your eyes, I see it everytime I look in the mirror myself. You yearn for him”, replied Hojun with a knowing smile. Yunho looked away from him, the man could still read him even after so many years.

 

“Does he not love you back”, egged on Hojun.

 

Yunho sighed and replied, “He doesn’t believe in love”

 

“To live with you and not believe in love, that’s quite a feat! And you two get along ? ”, asked Hojun, quite taken aback.

 

“Surprisingly well. Even though we are polar opposites, we just click”, said Yunho with an unbidden smile appearing on his face.

 

“Will you really be happy in an unrequited relationship”, asked Hojun, sounding worried. Yunho felt a strange tightness in his chest at the question.

 

* * *

 

 

Changmin and Taemin were sitting on a picnic blanket on the spot in the garden they had chosen to view the fireworks from. Jongin was dispatched off to buy snacks.

 

“Taemin-ah”, called out Changmin.

 

Taemin hummed in response.

 

“Can I ask you something personal”, asked Changmin.

 

“Of course”, said Taemin with a smile.

 

“When Jongin used to bring other people as his dates, how did that make you feel”, asked Changmin looking at the ground.

 

Taemin took a deep breath and mulled over the question. After a while he replied, “Lonely, I guess”

 

“Because Jongin wasn’t with you”, asked Changmin.

 

“Not that", said Taemin shaking his heading. Changmin was confused what other context could lonely be taken in ?

 

“I felt like there was this heaviness in my chest, a bit of a hitch in my breath but I couldn’t admit it to myself. Because, I was the one who didn’t want a relationship. I felt lonely because I was hurt but there was no one I could tell about it nor could I acknowledge it myself”, explained Taemin.

 

Changmin felt like Taemin absolutely nailed what Changmin had been feeling like the whole day. He wasn’t feeling alright since he saw Hojun with Yunho but he can’t tell anyone about it and he doesn’t want to acknowledge that it affects him.

 

“You probably felt something similar when you saw Kyu Hyung with someone else”, supplied Taemin helpfully.

 

No, he didn’t. Not even for a second. Then why does he feel that way for Yunho ? Is it because Yunho confessed to him ? That can’t be it because Kyuhyun confessed to him, too and these feelings didn’t come up for him. Was it because Yunho was his husband ? But they weren’t husbands in a ‘real sense’, their relationship was based on a business deal.

 

Maybe, maybe that was the reason. Changmin wants their relationship to be more than a business deal. But that would be contradicting the very thing Changmin had blamed Yunho for wanting this past week.

 

This was all fucking Yunho’s fault! Everything was going well but he had to bring in love and feelings and complicate things between them. And now, it will end happily for Yunho, he was probably going to complete his unfinished love story while Changmin would be left behind pining for a man who was never his to begin with.

 

“Pretzel, churros, popcorn, cotton candy and Soda”, said Jongin putting all of that down on the picnic blanket.

 

“You could have just bought the whole cart, would have been easier”, mocked Taemin.

 

“Or you could have just come with me and not left me to carry all of this on my own”, shot back Jongin.

 

“I was saving us a spot”, argued Taemin.

 

“That’s not a two person job”, countered Jongin.

 

Changmin turned away from them to focus on the fireworks that had just been lit. Changmin wondered if he and Yunho would ever have a chance to see them together, again.

 

* * *

 

 

Hojun smiled at the beautiful fireworks in the sky and said, “I wanted to see the fireworks with you, at least once”

 

Yunho’s phone buzzed, he opened the picture he had received. It was Changmin’s beautiful side profile captured in the lights of the firework.

 

_Me: Could you snap me a picture of your Hyung watching the fireworks ?_

 

_Taemin: Sent Picture_

 

_Taemin: You’re welcome!!!_

 

Hojun noticed the genuine smile on Yunho’s face and curiously peeked at what had caused it. Hojun’s smile dimmed a bit when he discovered that it was Changmin’s picture

 

* * *

 

When Yunho came home, Changmin was in the game room. He was playing Mortal Kombat, which was a strange pick. Changmin hated senseless violent games like those, this is Yunho’s DVD. Changmin must be in quite a mood.

 

“Changmin-ah”, called out Yunho.

 

“Yes”, answered Changmin absently, too involved in beating up some character who has nunchucks.

 

“I wanted to explain what happened today”, said Yunho settling down beside Changmin.

 

“Don’t bother with it“, said Changmin still playing the game.

 

“Would you just listen to me”, said Yunho pausing the game. Changmin glared at him in response.

 

“Heechul hyung set me and Hojun up to meet as a surprise, last weekend. I didn’t know he was back here. We got to talking and then he said he wanted to go and relive some old days by visiting the amusement park. I didn’t see any harm in it so I agreed. I would have told you but I didn’t think you would care”, said Yunho

 

“You are right, I don’t”, said Changmin coldly.

 

Well, what had he expected ? Changmin had made it very clear he didn’t want their relationship to change just because feelings are involved from his side. It was his fault that he couldn’t stay as detached as Changmin in this marriage. He couldn’t force Changmin to love him back, could he?

 

Yunho got up from the couch and headed towards the door.

 

“So what are you going to do about it”, Changmin’s voice stopped him in his tracks.

 

“About what”, asked Yunho confused.

 

“The love of your life walked back into your life and you are not going to do anything about it? Are you going to let him slip away from your hands once again?”, egged on Changmin.

 

Yunho couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “Are you forgetting that I told you that I loved you”

 

“Yeah but there must be a priority, right”, said Changmin, anger evident in his voice.

 

“Come again”, asked Yunho.

 

“First love must outrank, everything else, right ? I mean, you have known him forever, you have hardly known me for a year”, Changmin knew he was basically throwing back Yunho’s words at him just so he could hurt him for how Changmin had felt the whole day.

 

“Is that what you really think of me ? You think all of my feelings, affections and loyalty would disappear because Hojun came back ? You think I am that shallow ?”, retorted Yunho in anger.

 

“You tell me”, said Changmin folding his arms defensively. But when he met Yunho’s eyes, he knew he had said the wrong thing, he had gone too far. Yunho’s whole face just shut down completely and he quietly left the room. Changmin just knew it was the quiet before the storm.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My brain: How much drama do you want ?  
> Me: Yes  
> Updates as usual are scheduled to be posted on Sunday CST


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *drops the chapter and runs away from the angry crowd* Kidding! Thank you so much for all your lovely comments, they really inspired me to keep working on this chapter. I will definitely reply to each of them. Also, the final chapter will drop next week (15th June 2019) rather than the usual schedule 'coz I have decided to invest some more time into it. Other than that thank you all the lovely people who keep hitting the kudos and even recommend this story to others. Thank you, all!

Yunho hadn't been back home for two whole days, now. Changmin had gone from worried to angry and finally defeated. He made the trip to Yunho's office which had recently become his home.

Yunho's assistant had been very happy to see him. The older woman expressed her concern over Yunho being here for the past two days. Changmin nodded at the right places, his mind far too distracted about what he was going to say to Yunho.

Yunho was busy in a meeting so Changmin took the time to look around the office. It surprisingly had a spacious bathroom. It had a small closet with Yunho's formal clothes. Changmin couldn't stop himself from righting the collar of the shirts that were so carelessly hanged. He moved to Yunho's desk which now had more pictures than he remembered. Aside from their wedding picture, there were now three more pictures. One was a black and white still of Changmin playing the guitar in the Gothic quarter of Barcelona.

There was another picture of Changmin cheeks stuffed with food. Changmin itched to take that picture away, it was an unflattering one in his opinion. The third one was him drenched in petals glaring at the camera. Yunho had very absurd tastes.

Suddenly the door opened and Changmin turned to see a stunned Yunho in front of him.

“Changmin-ah”, he said as if he couldn't quite believe his eyes. He soon recovered and checked his watch.

“I know you are busy, I will hardly take 5 minutes of your time”, said Changmin.

Before Yunho could respond to that a knock interrupted them.

“Sir”, came the voice from behind the door. Changmin guessed it was Yunho's assistant.

“Yes”, replied Yunho.

“Just wanted to remind you that you have the leadership meeting in 10”, she said.

“Yes, thank you”, replied Yunho and hurriedly walked to his desk to sort out some files. Changmin felt like he should leave, clearly Yunho was busy. But he knew if he left without saying anything he wouldn't gather the courage a second time.

“I was wrong”, said Changmin.

Yunho paused and then looked at him.

“I know your feelings for me are honest. I shouldn’t have used that against you”, said Changmin, regret evident in his voice.

“I was angry and wanted to hurt you, didn’t even think of anything beyond that”, explained Changmin looking away from the Alpha.

Yunho took a moment to absorb the whole thing and then asked, “Are you angry about how I reacted to Kyuhyun”

“No”, said Changmin frustrated at Yunho's cluelessness.

“Then”, prompted Yunho. Changmin assessed the Alpha for a while, he didn't seem to have any clue about Changmin's feelings.

“You really don’t know”, asked Changmin feeling disappointed.

Yunho tried to rack his brains the most obvious answer was of course, Hojun. But Changmin wouldn't be jealous or otherwise about that, as far as he knew the Omega. Or was he ?

“Hojun”, asked Yunho, not quite beliving it himself.

“Not really”, said Changmin shaking his head.

Yunho looked at Changmin confused, he had run out of ideas. What else could have hurt Changmin ?

Changmin sighed and took pity on him.

“It’s the fact that you assumed that I wouldn’t care. It’s the same shit before we got married, you made a bunch of assumptions about me. I guess nothing’s changed since then”, said Changmin, his shoulders drooping.

“You know that’s not true”, shot back Yunho fervently.

“Then why would you think that? Was it because I never said that I loved you”, shot back Changmin, in anger.

Yunho really had no answer to that. Why did he assume things about Changmin ? His mind was drawing up blank. Now, that he was clearly thinking about it, Changmin had treated the topic of Hojun very respectfully and sympathetically every time they had talked so there was no reason he would be apathetic to it. Honestly, he had let his anger cloud his judgement and rather than reflecting on his own behavior, he had focused more on Changmin's harsh words.

Changmin mistook his silence as his anger and said, “I understand that you can hardly stand my presence now but please just come home”

“I have been busy”, said Yunho automatically as a weak excuse.

“It’s been two whole days”, emphasized Changmin.

‘’The house is yours if anyone should be leaving it should be me”, added Changmin with some gravitas.

“That’s not what I want”, Yunho immediately argued.

They were interrupted by yet another knock at the door. Yunho clicked his tongue in frustration.

“Yes”, called out Yunho.

“You said you wanted to go over some numbers before the meeting”, the voice came from behind the door.

Yunho looked harried as he responded, “Yes, just a minute”

Changmin knew that their time was up.

“I should get going. If you get some time, read my texts”, said Changmin before he walked out of the office.

* * *

  
While stuck on a red light, Yunho's gaze wandered towards the bouquet on the passenger seat of his car. He hoped that this one didn't end up having a similar fate to the one he had brought previously, trying to soothe things over with Changmin when they had their first big fight after marriage.

There wasn't anything else Yunho could think of the whole day. Once Changmin had confronted him all he wanted to do was kick himself for his childish behavior. They were both at fault but they should have really sat down and talked it out. Instead Yunho just completely shut him out. He didn't know what he had expected from that. When has not talking ever resolved something ? Changmin had shown himself to be the bigger person by starting the conversation, even admitting that he was wrong. Yunho had felt like an ass when Changmin had politely taken his leave.

The light turned green and Yunho started moving, still berating himself in his mind. Yunho had decided to do the wise thing. First, apologize to Changmin. He had gotten some carnations and a bottle of champagne to aid him. Second, talk through the whole mess to make sure such misunderstandings don't happen in the future.

Yunho reached home and stepped out the car somehow managing to carry the bouquet, champagne and his briefcase together. He unlocked the door and stepped in. The house seemed very quiet. But it could be just that Changmin might be working in his office.

Yunho hurriedly placed the bouquet and champagne on the table nearby, dropped his briefcase of the couch and went to Changmin's office. The room was dark and quiet.  
"Changmin-ah", called out Yunho before he threw the door open. There was no one in there. Yunho searched the game room and the gym but Changmin was nowhere to be found. It was strange, it was close to 11 pm. Changmin never stayed out that late. Maybe, he did have an appointment but couldn't tell Yunho about it because Yunho was being a petulant child and avoiding him.

Yunho figured he could just wash up and then call Changmin to see when he was coming back, tonight. Yunho loosened his tie and dropped it on their neatly made bed. He would have to remember to pick it up before Changmin chewed his head off for it. Yunho walked to the bathroom and turned up the light. Man, those were some huge bags under his eyes!

Yunho went about washing his face. As he was towel-drying his face, he noticed something absurd. Changmin's electric toothbrush was missing. Why would he remove it from here ? He couldn't leave, could he ? Yunho shook his head, maybe he was overreacting.

Yunho fetched his phone, there were notifications of Changmin's messages. Suddenly, Yunho was reminded of the fact that Changmin had asked him to read his texts. Yunho immediately opened up the app to go through Changmin's messages. Yunho scrolled to the top so that he could read from oldest to the newest.

_Bambi: Where are you ?_

_Bambi: I talked to Donghae hyung, he told me you were in your office. If you are angry, shout at me or something, this whole thing is childish_

_Bambi: Great, it’s been 2 days and you won’t even read my texts_

_Bambi: I have had a lot of time to think about the whole thing. You are pissed, I am pissed. Or at least I was, now I don’t know anymore. I understand the feelings you have for me but I think you should reconsider your stance on Hojun-ssi._

_Bambi: I accidentally overheard your conversation with him back in the park. Not everyone is as lucky as you, to get another chance in life. I know your sense of duty won’t let you leave me but for once put all the emotions aside and view this relationship for what it truly is, a business deal._

_Bambi: Are you really going to throw away a lifetime of happiness for that ?_

_Bambi: We both need some time and space. I am going to Japan for a couple of weeks, hopefully we would have come to a resolution by then. Please, take care._

What in the world was going on! Yunho couldn't believe what he was reading. Did Changmin really mean all of that or was all of this said in anger ? Yunho was so fucking confused. This morning itself Changmin had seemed so calm and composed and now he was in Japan!

Yunho immediately opened up FaceTime and called Changmin. He didn't care that it was late, this shit needed to be sorted out, right-fucking-now!  
After a long time of just ringing, Changmin finally picked up. A very tired-looking and somber Changmin appeared on the screen.

“Changmin-ah”, called out Yunho, his concern echoing through his voice.

“You’ve finally come home, I see”, said Changmin sitting up ramrod straight, clearly uncomfortable about the elephant in the room.

“Why did you leave”, asked Yunho bluntly.

Changmin's eyes wavered at that. “Did you not read my text”, he asked folding his hands defensively.

“I did and I don’t understand a single thing. I told you this morning, I don’t want you to leave. And what is all this talk about reconsideration ? I know, I am at fault too but we can talk about this”, requested Yunho.

Changmin took a deep breath, seemed like he was readying himself for a fight.

“We are talking, now”, he said, finally.

“Min-ah”, said Yunho softly. Changmin looked away from him.

“I am sorry”, continued Yunho. Changmin pressed his lips into a thin line in response, eyes trained to the ground.

“I should have told you about Hojun. I was angry and emotional from our fight that morning, I wasn’t thinking right”, said Yunho sincerely.

“It’s fine, I am over it anyway”, said Changmin still not looking at Yunho.

“Then why are you not here”, asked Yunho, not convinced by Changmin's answer.

“I needed to get away, I have to think objectively”, said Changmin gravely, almost like he was talking to himself.

“Think objectively, about what”, egged on Yunho.

Changmin took a deep breath and pursed his lips. The wait was killing Yunho but he knew better than to push Changmin and risk getting completely shut out.

After a while Changmin said, “About our marriage. I don’t think it’s wise to continue with it”

“What”, came out of Yunho's mouth automatically. He just couldn't believe what he was hearing.

“You said that this marriage was profitable to you because you would get the title of a Duke and a relationship with no expectations of love or romance. But obviously the later has changed now so it’s better to cut your losses. You are going to keep the title anyway”, reasoned Changmin.

“Are you serious about this ? After everything I have told you ?”, asked Yunho bewildered by the whole tangent.

Changmin finally looked him in the eye and asked, “Will you really be fine if you never hear ‘I love you’ from me”

Fuck, was this what all this was about ? Yunho thought they had talked about the whole thing before.

Yunho immediately replied, “I don’t expect you to...”

But Changmin cut before he could finish, “You say you don’t expect anything from me but the truth is that you can’t help but tie up certain expectations to me and when those don’t get fulfilled you beat yourself up for hoping in the first place. That’s not healthy. How long can this go on? Every time I feel like I am taking advantage of you or worse, stringing you along”

“So, you think it’s better to end it”, asked Yunho clearly agitated.

Changmin looked away and answered, “Better to nip it in the bud before it becomes malignant”

“Too late for that”, scoffed Yunho.

“You need to think about this objectively”, urged Changmin.

“I can’t. My emotions are all tangled up when it comes to you, it has been from day one. Even marrying you was an emotional decision”, blurted out Yunho getting antsy, he literally wanted to reach out through the screen and shake Changmin until he regained his senses.

Changmin's eyes welled up at that and fuck Yunho didn't want that. He meekly argued, “But you...”

“If we could control our feelings, you think we would have this problem in the first place ? I won’t divorce you, that’s my final answer”, said Yunho and disconnected the call before he completely lost his cool and said something too inadvertently hurtful.

He threw his phone on the couch in frustration. He was burning with anger, how could Changmin so callously talk about a divorce when he knew how Yunho felt about him! Did Yunho mean nothing to him ? Yunho's eyes fell upon the the bouquet which he promptly knocked off the table. He then went to the shoe-rack completely upended it in anger. He stood there looking at the mess. And nothing! That neither gave him peace nor satisfaction. It only made him feel hollow knowing that he could wreck the whole house and there would be no one to utter a single word about it.

Yunho went back to the table and picked up the Champagne. He popped it open and started downing the bottle.

* * *

  
It had been two days since Changmin had last talked to Yunho. Yunho had tried calling him again but Changmin hadn't picked up and just texted him asking him to give him some space. It's almost cruel that Changmin had come all the way to Tokyo to get Yunho off his mind and yet his husband was all he could think of.

The crowded train he was on currently reminded him of the time him and Yunho had taken the train together. He was wearing Yunho's pink hoodie that he had shamelessly acquired from him. Even when he packed, he had taken most of Yunho's hoodies with him. What the hell was he doing ? Changmin buried his face in his hands.  
Changmin looked up when he heard a cooing noises. There was a man carrying a toddler in his arms, the train was crowded and he didn't have any place to sit but he was trying his best to keep the kid's spirit up.

Changmin gave up his seat and asked the man to take it.

“Thank you so much”, he said with a grateful bow.

“It’s no problem”, replied Changmin with a polite smile. The man bowed once more and sat down putting his heavy bag down, placing the toddler on his lap.

The kid reached out towards Changmin and tugged on his sleeves.

“Sorry”, apologized the man gently pulling back the kid's hand.

“Don’t worry about it”, waved off Changmin. The kid then started blabbering excitedly at Changmin. Changmin wasn't sure how to react to that.

“Sorry, my son, he gets excited when sees pretty people”, said the man apologetically.

“You are too kind, he is cute. Very different from my niece, she only ever gets excited about food” , said Changmin tucking his loose strand of hair behind his ear.

“What about your own”, asked the man. Changmin was dumbfounded by the question.

As the silence stretched the man immediately backpeddaled, “Sorry, I noticed your ring so I asked. I am sorry if I overstepped”

“It’s fine. I don’t plan on having kids”, said Changmin softly, looking away from the man.

“Oh, I guess each to their own. Me, I didn’t know how much I wanted a kid until I had one. I can’t even think of living without him”, said the man happily cooing at his son who had now turned his attention towards his father.

Changmin looked at the father-son duo, he could easily imagine Yunho being a playful and doting father. He would probably exude even more happiness than the man in front of him exuded. This was what Changmin was depriving Yunho of. And if that wasn't a swift kick in his ribs.

* * *

  
Yunho was heading towards his office after a long meeting. He had been putting in long hours but his focus was shot to hell. He needed to pull up his socks and be a professional.

“Sir, there’s someone waiting for you inside”, his assistant intercepted him on his way.

It couldn't be. He knew it was a long shot but he couldn't keep his hope at bay. He threw the door open excitedly and called out, “Min-ah”

When he turned towards the couch, he saw a surprised Hojun. Yunho turned to close the door, mostly to hide his evident disappointment

“You were expecting someone else”, asked Hojun, good-naturedly.

“I don’t know what I was expecting”, said Yunho with a shrug before taking a seat.

“You look terrible, what’s wrong”, asked Hojun, concerned over Yunho's drooping shoulders and swollen eyes.

Yunho sighed and responded, “Changmin and me are having a fight”

“It’s not because of me, is it”, asked Hojun with some trepidation.

“No, it’s because both of us are stupid”, drawled Yunho slouching on the couch, tired emotionally and physically.

“Well, if it’s affecting you so much, you should try and sort that out first”, advised Hojun.

Yunho shook his head slightly and said, “Believe me, I have tried”

Hojun just took a moment to look at Yunho. Outwardly he looked professional and sharp with his suit and tie but in his eyes he could see that on the inside he was a mess. The last time he had seen Yunho like this was when they were breaking up. This showed that Yunho's feelings towards his husband were very strong. Hojun hesitated, maybe now was not the right time to talk about the things he wanted to.

Yunho suddenly sat up straight and said, “Sorry, I can get too caught up in my own problems. What’s up, is there something you wanted to talk about”

“I did but let’s just forget that and get lunch”, said Hojun with a kind smile.

“How did you know I didn’t have lunch”, asked Yunho surprised.

“You stop eating when you are stressed, unless that’s changed too”, replied Hojun. Yunho finally managed a smile at that and Hojun felt like it was a small victory.

But that victory soon turned sour when Yunho went back to his funk during lunch. He just pushed the food around distracted. Hojun didn't have to guess what was on the Alpha's mind. He had seen Yunho's desk filled with pictures of the Omega. Yunho was quite smitten. Now, where did that leave Hojun ?

 

* * *

  
“Oh hey, I haven’t talked to you for a long time, I was surprised you requested a call. Everything’s fine, right”, said Leeteuk over the phone.

“Yeah, I just wanted to get some details from you”, replied Changmin, coming directly to the point.

“Sure, about what”, asked Leeteuk promptly.

Changmin cleared his throat a bit and asked, “How much do I owe Yunho, financially”

Leeteuk was puzzled by the question. So, he clarified, “You don’t owe Yunho, anything. According to the contract...”

Changmin cut in before he could finish, “If I initiate the divorce, how much will I owe him”

“What”, exclaimed Leeteuk.

“I want a figure, how much would I have to pay if I initiate the divorce”, explained Changmin calmly.

Leeteuk sighed and said, “Changmin, pardon my interference. But even before you think of divorce please consider counselling”

“Could you get me the information”, asked Changmin not wanting to talk about the issue any further.

Leeteuk sighed again and replied, “I didn’t really keep track of it but Yunho’s lawyer should have the details, I can get it from him”

“Thank you”, said Changmin.

“Changmin, even without looking at it, I can guess we are looking at a very hefty sum, here. If you are settled on divorce, it would be wise to have Jung Yunho initiate it. You initiating it, isn’t really even an option”, explained Leeteuk.

“When can I expect the details”, asked Changmin ignoring Leeteuk's advice.

Leeteuk just gave up. Changmin and his father shared this one trait when they go off on a tangent they wouldn't listen to anything else.

“End of this week”, said Leeteuk massaging his forehead.

“I would appreciate if you would keep this from my father”, said Changmin. The last thing he needed was his father to get involved in this.

“Understood”, came the reply from Leeteuk before Changmin disconnected.

Leeteuk looked at his calendar. Looked like he would have to set up a meeting with Heechul.

 

* * *

  
When Yunho entered his home, he heard some noise coming from the kitchen. He froze. There just could be no one else in his kitchen.

“Oppa”, he heard before Jihye popped out of the kitchen with a bright smile on her face. Yunho gave her a tight smile in return.

Jihye took one look at him and asked, “What is it? You look tired”

“It’s been a long week”, waved off Yunho putting his briefcase away.

“Looks like it. Mom made some of your favorite stuff while she was visiting me, she wanted me to drop it off with you”, said Jihye.

“Sounds great”, said Yunho managing a smile.

“Oh, I didn’t see Changmin. Where’s he”, asked Jihye, curious. Yunho tried very hard not to sigh.

“Japan”, he replied quietly.

“Oh, how long”, asked Jihye. Last time she had talked to Changmin he hadn't mentioned any upcoming trips so it was a bit surprising to her.

“2 weeks or so”, replied Yunho with a shrug.

“Is something wrong”, asked Jihye, it was very clear that Yunho was upset.

“We are having an argument”, replied Yunho, no point trying to lie about it.

“Yu-no”, a voice interrupted them. Yunho turned to see his sweetheart of a niece toddling towards him with Bambi held tightly in her arms.

“Chae-ah, you are here”, said Yunho beckoning her.

“Yeah, me and her are kind of a package deal”, added Jihye, cheekily.

Eunchae came to Yunho but she stopped just short of his arms and sat down to play with Bambi, instead. She was always playing hard-to-get, except for Changmin whom she showed affection by pulling at his hair.

“She caught hold of that toy when I showed her all the soft-toys. And she has been playing with it since. She wouldn’t even let me touch it”, said Jihye.

Yunho sat down in front of Eunchae and asked, “Chae-ah, do you like Bambi”

Eunchae sniffed the toy and went, “Chami”

Yunho looked at the toy, looked like Changmin had taken the time to fix the missing eyes on the toy. Yunho leaned forward and sniffed the toy, too. It smelled a bit like Changmin, maybe because he was carrying it around with him. Changmin usually scoffed at his soft-toy collection but Yunho would some days see him hugging one of the stuffed bears while watching a movie in the game room.

“I guess she misses Changmin”, said Jihye with a smile.

“I do, too”, said Yunho, his shoulders drooping. He suddenly felt something on his cheek he was surprised to see Eunchae patting his cheek trying to console him.

“Yuno Chami”, she said before she made Bambi peck him on his cheek. Yunho's heart just felt full at the gesture.

 

* * *

  
Heechul was sitting in his office staring at the website which carried the new book from Chami-sensei. All the comments under the book and forum discussion claimed that this was the author's hottest work till date. A month ago, he had been excited too but now his pride just won't let him click on the 'Buy' option. This wasn't the untouchable Chami-sensei anymore, he was the Yunho's Changdol, the guy he had berated and criticized to hell and back. Still it didn't take away from the fact that the guy was fucking talented! But the hesitation was still there, surely he couldn't enjoy his writing anymore after knowing his identity.

“You called, your highness”, Yunho's voice surprised him. He immediately minimized his tab.

“That’s my line”, retorted Heechul covering up his surprise.

Yunho slouched on the chair across from him with a sigh and said, “I don’t know if it is. Nowadays, up is down and down is up for you”

“If this is about Hojun, fine! I deserve it”, said Heechul sheepishly.

“Really ? I had expected some gloating or snarl about how I should be thankful to you”, scoffed Yunho.

Heechul ran his hands through his face and said, “Fuck, I didn’t think things would go that badly”

“What”, asked Yunho a bit puzzled. He hadn't told Heechul about his and Changmin's fight so how did he know ?

“Teukkie called me today asking to give him an expense report of sorts”, explained Heechul.

“Who”, asked Yunho confused.

“Your Changminnie’s lawyer, he wanted to know how much his client owes you financially”, said Heechul with a wince.

That puzzled Yunho even more. What the hell was going on ?

“What ? Changminnie doesn’t owe me shit”, shot back Yunho.

Heechul winced once again and said, “He does if he initiates a divorce”

He looked at Yunho who just sat up straight looking quite dumfounded and lost.

When he didn't hear anything from Yunho for a while, Heechul called out, “Yunho”

“Yeah", replied Yunho distracted.

“I don’t know what happened but I can guess this is pertaining to Hojun’s re-appearance. When I arranged for both of you to meet, I didn’t want anything like this to happen”, Heechul pleaded his case.

“I know”, said Yunho looking at Heechul. He knew Heechul wouldn't genuinely ever wish ill on his marriage.

“Yunho-yah, why does he want to divorce you ? That is like his worst option and he knows it”, asked Heechul, concerned.

“He has gotten this into his head that we should divorce because he cannot love me back. And that I should marry Hojun, instead”, said Yunho with a shrug.

Heechul took some time to process the whole thing and then asked, “And you said no”

“Of course, I did”, shot back Yunho agitated. Heechul opened his mouth to say something but shut it again, throwing a glance at Yunho.

“What”, asked Yunho, if Heechul had something to say he should just say it. Yunho was too tired to guess.

Heechul winced before he suggested, “Maybe you should reconsider”

“You too”, exclaimed Yunho feeling betrayed.

“Just hear me out, ok ? Look, I understand you love him but if those feelings are somewhat burdensome to him, isn’t it better to set him free”, asked Heechul.

“Burdensome”, Yunho repeated the word feeling numb.

“Why else would he go to such lengths to divorce you? He is ready to go under a lifelong debt, here”, egged on Heechul.

Yunho just couldn't sit still. He got up from the chair and started pacing the room. Heechul looked at him feeling sorry and concerned.

“I am sorry, I wish everything would have worked out for you but this might be the best of the whole situation. I know you love Changmin now but at some point you did love Hojun more than anything in this world. If Hojun still has feelings for you and you spend enough time with him, there is no reason why you can’t fall in love again. On the other hand, you can’t force Changmin to fall in love with you”, reasoned Heechul.

“You make it sound so easy”, scoffed Yunho.

“Logically, the best you could do is initiate the divorce from your side. That way you free Changmin, he doesn’t go under debt and you still keep the title”, pressed on Heechul trying to be the voice of reason.

“Everyone around me is thinking objectively. Am I the only fool, here”, scoffed Yunho, self-deprecatingly.

“Yunho”, said Heechul with concern in his voice.

“I have had enough of this shit”, said Yunho before he walked upto the door.

“Yunho-yah”, called out Heechul. Yunho paused and turn around.

“Tell him if Changmin wants the expense report, he can take it from me directly”, he said before banging the door in his way out.

Heechul clicked on his screen on frustration which maximized the tab he had minimized previously, the cover of the book showing up. The drawing looked a bit familiar. It was the King dressed in his ceremonial robes, sitting on his throne looking bored. The mole near the King's lips caught his attention. Heechul scrolled to the synopsis and saw that the King's name was 'Eunho'. Now that he looked closely, the ceremonial robes the King was wearing was very similar to the one Yunho worn during his coronation. Fucking Hell! Heechul hit that buy option in a second.

 

* * *

 

  
Yunho got into his car and the first thing he did was call Changmin. Enough of this space bullshit, he needed to get some sense into the Omega's stubborn head. When Changmin did not pick up, Yunho sent him a text asking him to pick up the call. But alas, the Omega did not.  
Yunho fumed, he literally was left with no other choice.

 

* * *

  
“You going somewhere”, asked Hojun as he entered Yunho's office. Yunho had a travel suitcase parked near the couch.

“I have a flight in some hours”, replied Yunho.

Hojun just shook his head. He fucking figured.

“You made me chase half the world after you and now you are leaving”, scoffed Hojun.

“What”, asked Yunho confused.

Hojun just gave a rueful chuckle and replied, “I guess you will never understand if I don’t go ahead and say it”

Yunho still looked quite lost.

“I didn’t know what made me come back or even consider a job here after so many years. I told myself that closure was my motivation but deep down I knew I had hoped for a new beginning for us”, said Hojun meeting Yunho's eyes.

Yunho looked away, he had no idea that Hojun still felt that way.

“Things have changed”, said Yunho.

“I can see that but there are still some things to consider”, said Hojun. Yunho looked at him inquisitively.

“The relationship you have with your husband, is it sustainable”, asked Hojun bluntly.  
Yunho just had enough with everyone telling him that his relationship was doomed to fail when they didn't have a single clue about how determined Yunho was.

“Just because it’s one-sided”, challenged Yunho.

“One cannot only keep giving. That’s never healthy, look at you right now”, pointed out Hojun.

“It’s not like I haven’t weathered worse when it was requited”, scoffed Yunho.

Hojun winced at that. Yunho was still bitter about how things had ended between them. But when Hojun was trying to right things between them Yunho just didn't want any part in it.

So, Hojun went for broke, “You know how I feel about you. But do you not even have an ounce of the love you used to have for me left in you? Because, I think we can still make it work”

Yunho sighed and ran his hands through his face.

After few moments of silence, Yunho said, “My feelings for you can’t just disappear in a snap, they are still very much there. But...”

“They can’t even compete against your feelings for Changmin”, Hojun completed from him.

“I can’t give him up, he is everything to me”, said Yunho bluntly.

Hojun gave a bitter smile and said, “Not so long ago, I had heard some similar words about me from you. Can feelings such strong really change ? ”

Yunho just felt sorry for Hojun.

“Last time, I didn’t give you a choice but this time I am asking you. Should I stay or leave, Yunho”, asked Hojun with hope in his eyes.

Yunho sighed, this time he would be the one dashing Hojun's hopes.

“I am sorry but I have no right to make that decision”, said Yunho.

“But I am giving it you of my own accord”, countered Hojun.

“I understand that the question comes with the weight of expectations. But I can only tell you this, whatever choice you end up making, I will still be the dumb guy who will be pursuing this one-sided, so-called unsustainable and unhealthy relationship with my husband”, said Yunho with conviction.

Hojun just looked away from him trying to hold back tears.

“Hojun”, called out Yunho softly.

“It’s not like I didn’t expect that answer. It’s just... still hard to hear it”, said Hojun, his face twisting, voice cracking.

Yunho rose up from his seat and kneeled in front of Hojun holding his hands, “I am sorry, I feel like I have led you on even if it was unintentional”

“No, please don’t apologize. You are kind, so kind. Please don’t ever change”, said Hojun pressing back on Yunho's hand knowing fully well that this was the last time ever he was going to hold those hands.

 

* * *

  
Changmin wasn't really surprised to see Taemin calling him. Changmin had ditched their meeting, after all.

"Taemin-ah", greeted Changmin picking up the call.

“Hyung, what are you doing in Tokyo ? Your home is in a state of complete disarray”, exclaimed Taemin.

“What”, exclaimed Changmin, he was hardly gone for a week, how could Yunho have managed to turn the whole place over?

“Papers everywhere, dry clothes from the laundry on the couch and mold in the refrigerator”, went off Taemin.

“Please tell me you are kidding! Please”, pleaded Changmin. It hurt to even imagine that.

“Fine, I am. You should come back, though.Yunho Hyung looks miserable”, conceded Taemin.

“Is he not eating”, asked Changmin, concerned.

“Why don’t you ask him, yourself ? Did you two, fight”, asked Taemin. Changmin just pursed his lips and decided not to answer that.

“Is this about the Kyu Hyung? I know you were asking me all that stuff while we were waiting for the fireworks”, pushed on Taemin.

“You are way off the mark. Kyu has nothing to do with anything”, waved off Changmin.

“So what ? Did you realize your feelings for Yunho Hyung and like any basic shoujo manga protagonist decided to make a run for it”, asked Taemin with a huff.

“How dare you compare me to basic shoujo manga”, shot back Changmin, indignant.

“I am not wrong, am I ? You love him, don’t you”, egged on Taemin

“I am not getting into this with you, right now”, shot back Changmin, annoyed. What did Taemin know, anyway? He was just a kid!

“No seriously, stop sulking and comeback. Or I swear I will walk on the carpet with my shoes on”, said Taemin, petulantly.

“You wouldn’t dare”, warned Changmin. Just then Changmin heard a clattering noise.

“Shit”, exclaimed Taemin.

"What is it", asked Changmin, a bit concerned.

“Don’t worry, definitely didn’t spill liquid on the expensive hardwood table”, rattled off Taemin, his voice belying him.

“You better hope not”, warned Changmin, his hackles rising.

"I gotta go", said Taemin and disconnected. Changmin really hoped that his home was in one piece when he returned otherwise Taemin was going to be in big trouble.

The phone in his hotel-room rang breaking his train of thoughts. Why would the front-desk want to talk to him ?

“Hello”, said Changmin picking up the receiver.

“Sir, we have a certain Mr. Jung Yunho waiting for you in the lobby. He claims to be your husband and wishes to meet you”, said the lady on the phone.  
No fucking way! Yunho wouldn't. He is usually so busy, this was even a working day. Did Yunho really make the trip for him ?

“Sir”, the lady on the phone spoke once again since Changmin hadn't spoken in a while.

“Please let him through”, replied Changmin.

“Sure, sir”, said the lady before she disconnected. Changmin just sat there for a while with the receiver in his hand. He wasn't prepared to face Yunho. The last they had talked over FaceTime, Yunho had looked so fucking hurt. Changmin wasn't sure how he felt towards Yunho, now. When he came here, it was his anger that was mostly driving him. But after his talk with Yunho, he started feeling apologetic. And now he just felt fucking inadequate to stay by Yunho's side.

A knock on his door surprised him. Changmin gulped, mentally fortifying himself against his husband's raw emotions that he wore saw freely on his face. Changmin walked towards the door and reached for the handle. He took a deep breath and pulled it open.

It was Yunho, wearing a black sweater and blue jeans, bags under his eyes but unadulterated happiness on his face. Changmin looked away from him, he had missed the Alpha so much even if they were fighting.

"Changdol-ah", called out Yunho carefully and it was like a fucking dam broke inside Changmin. He threw himself into Yunho's arms and closed his eyes trying hard not to sob.

Yunho hugged him back just as fervently and buried his face in Changmin's neck.

Changmin jolted when he felt Yunho press a kiss on his neck.

Changmin pulled back and asked, “Why are you here”

“Do you really not know”, asked Yunho, looking a bit disappointed.

This is the kind of shit Changmin couldn't deal with. he pulled away from the Alpha and walked towards the bedroom. Yunho closed the door behind him and followed the Omega.

“You haven’t been picking up my calls”, Yunho said entering the bedroom.

“So naturally the next option is to fly all the way, here”, shot back Changmin his back turned to the Alpha.

“How am I supposed to talk to you, then”, asked Yunho coming in front of Changmin, forcing him to face him.

“How did you even know that I was here”, demanded Changmin.

Yunho winced and replied, “Taemin”

“That traitor”, cursed Changmin.

“He cares about you”, defended Yunho.

“I know that”, said Changmin petulantly as he sat on the bed, looking away from Yunho.

“Would you just look at me”, requested Yunho. Changmin turned his eyes towards his husband who seemed to be preparing to say something.

“So, you want to divorce me”, asked Yunho looking into Changmin's eyes.

“It’s for everyone’s benefit”, replied Changmin looking away from him.

“Who is this ‘everyone’ you are referring to ? And why am I excluded from it”, demanded Yunho.

“Don’t try to get cheeky with me, you know exactly who I am referring to”, shot back Changmin in anger

“So, you really believe that divorce is the best option for us”, asked Yunho calmly.

“Yes”, said Changmin folding his hands in defense. Changmin felt Yunho coming close to him. He felt Yunho's finger on his chin as he turned his face towards him.

“So, what I am hearing is that you are pushing for this divorce because you think it is a good option and not because you want to”, said Yunho looking into his eyes.

Changmin pushed his hand away and replied, “Someone has to be objective since you have decided to be stubborn”

“You think that divorce is the best option for us and I disagree. If you see that as being stubborn then so be it. At least I know what I want“, argued Yunho.

“You think I don’t”, shot back Changmin, indignant.

“Do you”, asked Yunho. And honestly, Changmin had no answer to that. he thought coming here would clear his mind and give him answers but all he has in his head is a muddle of thoughts and emotions.

“Because if that’s what you really want then I will initiate the divorce”, said Yunho with conviction.

And that surprised Changmin. He felt this fear in his stomach, he had been pushing around the idea of divorce in his head but Yunho had been so staunchly against it so it never really felt real. But now that the words had been spoken, it made Changmin sick. Was it really the end for them ?

“The last thing I want is for you to be forced into doing something you don’t want”, clarified Yunho. Changmin just froze mentally and physically. He couldn't think of a single thing to say.

After some moments of silence passed, Yunho asked, “So, what will it be”

Changmin just shook his head, his eyes welling up.

“You don’t understand”, he said finally, his voice cracking a bit.

“Then explain it to me”, coaxed Yunho holding his hands.

“You are willing to give up on your dream of becoming a father just to save this marriage. You don’t know how that makes me feel”, said Changmin, the self-loathing coming across with his voice.

“This again”, said Yunho. He let of Changmin's hands and sat down on the bed beside him with a sigh. Changmin tried to wipe his tears away.

“You feel burdened by it, you feel unfairly pressured. Is that it”, asked Yunho after a while of Changmin sniffling beside himself.

“I just don’t want you to end up hating me”, said Changmin between his sniffles. And man, that was breaking Yunho's heart.

"Min-ah, remember once you told me that given the choice you would never marry", asked Yunho.

Changmin immediately defended, "What has that to do with..."

Yunho cut in, "So this marriage is sort of a compromise for you, right"

Changmin was immediately about to protest but he stopped and thought about it for a while. Maybe it wasn't like that now but it did feel like it when he had agreed to the marriage.

Changmin shrugged and pursed his lips. "Well, it started like that but things have changed", he finally said meekly.

"They have for me too, you know", said Yunho holding Changmin's hands once again.

"I thought I was incapable of loving someone else but we both know how that worked out", added Yunho. Changmin looked down at their hands avoiding Yunho's face. He knew he would break into another sob if he looked directly at the Alpha.

"And I won't deny it, I have always had a strong desire to become a father. It's still true but even more than that, I wish to be your husband. Someone you can trust, someone you can rely on, someone who can make you happy", said Yunho caressing Changmin's head, protectively.

"You already are all of that", shot back Changmin looking at Yunho. Yunho should know that by now. He is one person Changmin had opened up most to. He must know that!  
Yunho sighed and wiped Changmin's tears.

"This says otherwise", said Yunho gesturing at his tears. Changmin sniffled and started wiping away the fresh tears that had appeared.

After a full minute of silence, Yunho spoke up, "Let's just forget all of that for a minute. Forget about what's best for me or the world in general. For once, just be selfish and think about yourself. What is it that you want"

Changmin took his time and mulled over it. Yunho waited, his stomach turning over with dread. He came here without planning anything, he just had this feeling that Changmin didn't want to divorce him. Changmin did have some feelings for him, he clung on to that feeling amidst all the negativity and came here. But now, he was scared. He didn't want to lose Changmin.

"I want you to stop squeezing the toothpaste from the middle", said Changmin finally with a sniffle.

Yunho was bowled over by it. This wasn't what he had even remotely expected from Changmin.

"That's it", asked Yunho, feeling dumbfounded.

"I want you to start caring about your health, sometimes I feel like a parent running after their toddler", complained Changmin, wiping his tears.

"Not quite what I was going for with the question", said Yunho.

"I am not done, yet", cut in Changmin angrily. Yunho zipped up his mouth.

Changmin then continued, "Those ridiculous nicknames you keep calling me..."

"Understood, you want me to stop", cut in Yunho.

"NO", exclaimed Changmin surprising Yunho.

"So, you want me to keep using them", asked Yunho confused.

"In moderation", said Changmin meekly, looking away from him. Yunho saw that Changmin's ears had gone red. Changmin was blushing! Was this his weird way of confessing his feelings ?

"What about the flirting", tried Yunho to check his theory.

"In moderation, also appropriate place and time", replied Changmin with a sniffle, pointedly looking down. So, it was a sort of confession! It was probably the weirdest and most unromantic one ever but it made Yunho so emotional, his eyes almost welled up with joy.

"I want you to keep talking to me even if we are fighting, even if I am in the wrong. It's horrible when you avoid me", chided Changmin. At this point he looked at Yunho who was by now grinning like a loon.

"What are you smiling about", asked Changmin confused.

"I am just happy", said Yunho with a bright smile.

"What kind of a masochist are you ? You are happy that I complaining about you", chided Changmin.

"Because it shows that you care", replied Yunho.

"Of course I care, you would be blind to miss that", shot back Changmin, indignant. Yunho's heart was full.

He couldn't control himself as he grabbed Changmin's face and said, "Changdol-ah"

Changmin looked at him with his big Bambi-esque eyes. It wasn't Yunho's fault, who wouldn't fall for them ?

"Would you grow old with me even after all the crap we have been through ? Even if I still sometimes forget to take my shoes off inside", asked Yunho with a smile.

"Ok", said Changmin looking away, blushing.

Yunho pulled his hands back and asked, "Ok ? That's it"

"Yeah, what more do you want? As if it's not bad enough that we are acting out a basic shoujo manga climax scene", scoffed Changmin, wiping his more of his fresh tears.

"Aigoo-yah, stop crying", said Yunho before he rushed foward and kissed him hard, swallowing his sobs.

Both of them pulled back, the Omega's breathing becoming heavier. There was just a hot moment where they just looked at each other with need before Yunho's hands quickly moved to grab the back of Changmin's thighs. He then lifted the Omega slightly and pushed him further back on the bed.

Changmin toppled and fell backwards, flat on the bed. He looked quite shocked by Yunho's sudden movement. Yunho didn't waste any time in pushing his knee between Changmin's legs. He then bent down to take Changmin in a searing kiss. Yunho's thumb pulled slightly on the Omega's lower lip, indicating he wanted entrance. Changmin was only happy to oblige.

Changmin's hands drifted to Yunho's crotch and he could immediately feel the Alpha's hardness. Yunho pulled back when Changmin rubbed him through his pants.

"Sorry, I can't control myself. I haven't touched you for more than a week", said Yunho planting kisses on Changmin's neck.

"You are not the only one", said Changmin pulling Yunho's collar which made the Alpha lose his balance and fall on top of him. Their bodies flush against each other. Yunho could feel Changmin's hard-on against his own. Yunho thrust up against Changmin, earning a soft moan from him. God, he had missed that!

"This will be quick", said Yunho impatiently getting a hold of Changmin's waist. He started rutting against the Omega, they were both to pent up to even bother with taking their cocks out. Or atleast that was what Yunho thought until he heard a breathless Changmin say, "No, stop"

Yunho immediately stopped and looked at Changmin confused. He looked so lost, Changmin almost laughed at him.

"Take off your clothes. I want you in me", said Changmin unbuttoning Yunho's pants. Yunho pulled back like it was the most difficult feat he had ever achieved. He impatiently got rid of his clothes. Changmin took the time to undress as well. Once Yunho was done, he immediately pushed Changmin's legs apart and touched his hole. Changmin blushed at how single-minded Yunho could be when they fucked.

Yunho immediately thrust two of his fingers into Changmin's hole, they went in easily.

"Just put your cock in, I am ready", gritted out Changmin when Yunho tapped his prostate.

"Impatient", said Yunho with a smirk and pressed against Changmin's prostate earning a low moan from the Omega.

Changmin whined impatiently, "Yunho, don't fucking..."

"Ok, ok", said Yunho withdrawing his fingers, not wanting to piss Changmin any further. Yunho pulled back and placed Changmin's legs over his shoulders.

He couldn't resist himself from placing a kiss on the inner side of the Omega's ankles. Changmin hummed in pleasure at that. Yunho couldn't help but smile at the Omega whose eyes were closed in pleasure. God, he had missed that face.

Changmin opened his eyes and looked at Yunho.

"Could you be sappy at a later time ? I am getting old, here", nagged Changmin. Yunho's smile widened, he really must be a masochist, it isn't normal to miss someone's nagging. Yunho lined up his cock and entered Changmin in one go.

Yunho immediately had to hold his breath to not come immediately. Changmin was way too, tight. He didn't realize it when he was using his fingers because well, the girth doesn't compare. Yunho grabbed the sheets tightly and bit his lips trying trying to stave off his orgasm.

When he finally got himself under control, he looked at Changmin who was panting heavily, his eyes closed, body taut trying to get used to the intrusion.  
"So tight. I leave you alone for a week and it's like you never had anything down there", teased Yunho.

"It's your fault! You are just abnormally large down there", shot back Changmin hitting him on his arm. Yunho buried his face in Changmin's neck trying to hide his smugness. But Changmin could feel the Alpha's lips curl up against his neck.

"Stop gloating and move already", said Changmin impatiently. Yunho obliged with a strong thrust, Changmin gasped loudly at it. From then on there was no mercy, Yunho kept fucking him at an unrelenting pace. Changmin was so worked up, a few thrusts to his prostate and he shot his cum, all the way upto the Alpha's chin. Yunho pulled back and wiped off some of the cum on his chin and licked it slowly as he looked into Changmin's eyes. Changmin looked away red-faced with embarassment.

"That was quite a build-up, did you not touch yourself the whole time", said Yunho cheekily inserting the tip of his middle finger into the slit of the Omega's cock. Changmin shuddered in response, batting away at the Alpha's hands weakly.

"Cut it out", Changmin whined, unable to bear the overstimulation. Yunho smirked and pulled out of him completely. Changmin let out a loud whining noise at that. Yunho turned Changmin over and penetrated him once again.

"What was that", asked Changmin with a gasp.

"Breeding position, to take my knot", replied Yunho huskily and nipped at Changmin's ear.

"It's gonna last long, I can feel it", said Yunho pressing Changmin's abdomen. Changmin was so fucking turned on. Yunho started thrusting again, Changmin could feel the Alpha's knot swelling with each thrust. Soon, it became big enough to press hard against Changmin's prostate and then Yunho started flooding his insides. The knot keeping him plugged up.

Changmin groaned as Yunho collapased on his back panting with exhaustion.

"You were telling me, that's quite a build-up yourself", teased Changmin breathlessly as a huge spurt of come emptied in him. Yunho responded by turning him to side and pressing up hard against him. The excessive pressure on his prostate forced out another orgasm from him.

As Changmin was panting, trying to gain his senses back after the high of the orgasm, he felt Yunho nip where his mating bite was placed.  
"Love you, Changmin-ah", whispered Yunho.

 

* * *

  
Yunho applied after-shave on his chin and assessed himself in the mirror to check if he had missed some spots while shaving. Satisfied, he walked out of the bathroom with towel slung on his neck. His eyes immediately went to his husband who was the bed. The Omega was freshly out of shower, wearing just a flimsy bathrobe, rubbing lotion on his mile-long leg. Yunho's cock twitched at the scene.

"Are you trying to seduce me", asked Yunho with a smirk.

Changmin scoffed at the ridiculous notion and replied, "If skincare routine turns you on, then sure", not even bothering to look at Yunho. Yunho immediately closed the distance between them.

"Are you wearing anything underneath", the Alpha asked curiously pushing his hands up the robe.

"Yunho", exclaimed Changmin, batting at the Alpha's wandering hand. Yunho was genuinely disappointed to encounter Changmin's briefs in there.

"We just fucked in the shower", said Changmin pushing away Yunho's hand.

"You look fuckable out of shower, too", said Yunho with a leer.

"If I didn't know any better I would have guessed that you were in rut", said Changmin putting some of the lotion on Yunho's cheeks to calm him down. Yunho clicked his tongue in frustration and arranged Changmin's thighs so he could lay down on them.

Changmin made a surprised noise as Yunho laid his head on his thigh. Once Yunho settled, Changmin just shook his head and started rubbing lotion on Yunho's face. Yunho relaxed under his ministrations.

After a while of silence, Yunho spoke, "Changmin-ah"

"Ye", replied Changmin absently running his hands through the Alpha's hair.

"I talked to Hojun before coming here", said Yunho.

"Oh", said Changmin pausing his ministrations.

"I told him that I didn't wish to rehash or re-evaluate the past. I have moved on and someone else holds my heart right now", continued Yunho, looking at the Omega's face for a reaction.

"How did he react", asked Changmin, his face carefully blank.

"He knew that I was in love with you, the moment he saw us together", replied Yunho, eyes still trained on Changmin. Yunho relaxed when he saw Changmin breaking into an embarrassed smile.

"It's because you are a sap", said Changmin patting lightly on Yunho's cheeks.

"He said he had expected no less and wished me good luck", said Yunho closing his eyes, relaxing under Changmin's touch.

Changmin knew Hojun would have been devastated either way. Losing someone like Yunho would never be an easy pill to swallow. Changmin paused deciding something.

"Yunho", he called out. Yunho hummed in response.

"About Kyuhyun, I had wanted to tell you about him after we attended Siwon's wedding. But you know what happened", said Changmin. Yunho opened his eyes and looked at him prompting him to go on.

"It spooked Kyu really bad, he asked me not to reveal his identity to you. He was desperate, even though I was not onboard with it, he was my friend before everything, I owed him that much", explained Changmin.

"You did the honorable thing", said Yunho with a sigh.

"Even if I hid it from you", egged on Changmin.

Yunho sighed again and said, "My anger that day was misplaced. The whole thing was not just about you, it was about Kyuhyun too and if he hadn't consented to reveal it then there wasn't anything else you could have done"

Changmin felt Yunho grab one of his hands. Changmin looked at Yunho inquisitively.

"I am sorry I shut you out that day rather than talk to you", said Yunho kissing Changmin's hand.

"You better not pull that shit, again", warned Changmin finger-combing Yunho's hair.

"Yes, your highness", said Yunho placing a soft kiss on Changmin's inner thigh.

"That tickles", said Changmin hitting Yunho's arm lightly.

They still had a long way to go, a lot of things to resolve but for the first time ever Yunho felt confident about their relationship. He knew they would survive the tests of time but for now he wanted to close his eyes and enjoy the safe haven that was husband's lap.

"Yah, don't fall asleep! My thighs are going numb", complained Changmin.

Perfect, Yunho thought as Changmin tried pushing him off his lap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: *tries to write angst but turns into fluff* I blame HoMin. Have a great rest of your week!


	19. Chapter Nineteen

Three years later...

 

“Are you still in the office”, asked Changmin walking up to the door.

 

“Yeah”, came Yunho’s tired reply.

 

“Have you had your dinner'', asked Changmin knowing that Yunho definitely didn’t.

 

“Yes, baby”, said Yunho cheesily. Changmin knew that Yunho was doing that on purpose to get a reaction out of him.

 

“I will reach out over the phone and thump you”, warned Changmin before he unlocked the door to their home.

 

“Jagiya”, coaxed Yunho over the phone.

 

“Don’t test me”, warned Changmin ticked off by the endearment, he fucking hated that. But Yunho always did that when he wanted to deflect his attention. Changmin pushed the door open and just froze in his tracks.

 

There was a path from the living room to the bedroom made of rose petals. But what was more worrying was the numerous candles that were lit on the boundaries of the path. There was being romantic and then there was this fire hazard waiting to happen.

 

“I think I banned you from using candles”, said Changmin into the phone

 

“I don’t know what you are talking about”, said Yunho in his most unconvincing tone. The man couldn’t lie even if his life depended on it.

 

“Yunho, come out”, demanded Changmin, seeing through his poor ruse.

 

“What ? I am in the office”, insisted Yunho.

 

“So, you don’t know about the candles and the petals”, asked Changmin skeptically.

 

“Candles? ”, asked Yunho trying to sound confused. Changmin had enough of this.

 

“Fine, I will clean it up”, said Changmin into the phone.

 

“No, don’t”, he heard a panicked Yunho over the phone before he rushed out of their bedroom. Changmin shook his head at his husband. Did he really think he could pull off that ruse ?

 

Yunho was still wearing his work clothes, just the suit jacket was off and the sleeves of his white shirt folded up to his elbow. Changmin figured Yunho had immediately set on decorating as soon as he came home from the office.

 

“I worked so hard on this”, said Yunho pouting at Changmin.

 

“You think your aegyo would work on me”, scoffed Changmin. Did he really ? Changmin has had four years to develop immunity against that stuff.

 

Yunho exaggerated his pout and that was it! A 34-year old man should not be getting away with this.

 

“Oh, what the heck”, cursed Changmin and stepped on the petals. Yunho’s eyes immediately lit up when Changmin started slowly walking on the petals towards him.

 

“This is embarrassing, by the way”, said Changmin very embarrassed to be playing along with Yunho’s cheesiness.

 

“You love it”, countered Yunho, with a gleeful smile seeing a flustered Changmin.

 

Once Changmin reached Yunho he chided, “We have been married for nearly 4 years now, do you really need to...”

 

But he was cut off by Yunho swooping in to take him in a searing kiss. Things turned hot and heavy pretty soon as Yunho breached Changmin’s mouth with his tongue while his hands grabbed the Omega’s ass and started rubbing their crotches together.

 

Yunho started guiding them towards the bedroom but he got some resistance from his husband.

 

Yunho pulled back with a sigh and asked, “You are still worried about the candles, aren’t you”

 

“Sorry, I just don’t want the house to burn down”, said Changmin looking back at the candles.

 

Yunho shook his head, he knew Changmin wouldn’t able to let go of that thought.

 

“Fine, let’s blow them out”, conceded Yunho with a kiss.

 

* * *

 

Yunho and Changmin were on the bed, their clothes shucked off. Strangely, Changmin just remained still rather than initiate so Yunho came forward and started kissing him.

 

Changmin responded immediately. Yunho slowly ran his hands across Changmin’s beautiful back.  He held his waist and pulled him in closer to brush their chests together. Both Yunho and Changmin moaned at the contact.

 

But Yunho could clearly feel Changmin shaking in his arms so he pulled back a bit and asked, “What is it? Are you cold”

 

Before Changmin could respond, Yunho immediately bent and put his cheek against Changmin’s neck. Changmin moaned a bit and the sudden touch.

 

“You feel warm, though”, said Yunho pulling back.

 

“Just nervous, I guess”, replied Changmin with a shrug, not meeting Yunho’s eyes. Understanding immediately dawned on Yunho as put a little space between them.

 

“You are allowed to change your mind, you know”, said Yunho holding Changmin’s hand.

 

Over time a lot of things had changed. Like most of Yunho’s habits that drove Changmin crazy had changed. Changmin himself had turned down his own habit of nagging about every little habit. They simply had learned to not behave in a way that the other disliked. They still weren’t a perfect couple, they still fought over the silliest of things. For example, two days ago they argued about the temperature on thermostat. But they have learned to be much more understanding of each other.

 

The more Changmin came to understand Yunho, the more he came to respect him and care for him. Yunho was just so giving and open with his affections sometimes it made Changmin feel like he wasn’t enough. He wished he was more open with his affections like Yunho and the shy introvert he was. Yet, Yunho just understood him. He told him he loved him everyday and never once asked Changmin to say it back. The word love was not enough to encase what he felt for Yunho. There was devotion, affection, pride, protectiveness and most importantly trust that he had in Yunho.  

 

And it was that trust that made him one day tell Yunho that he wished to start a family with him. Surprising him once again rather than be on the top of the world, Yunho had asked him if he was doing it if he was feeling pressured. It took Changmin a long time to convince him that even though he was doing it for Yunho, he only felt comfortable to go for it because he had the utmost faith in Yunho. He trusted that Yunho would be a great parent and if there were some aspects of parenthood that Changmin would struggle with, Yunho would definitely step up and fill in. Mostly he believed that could always make it work together like they have made their marriage work.  

 

Still, Changmin couldn’t help be a little nervous. He could end up conceiving before the night was out. But that didn’t mean he wanted to back out.

 

“That’s not it”, said Changmin shaking his head. Yunho was still looked unconvinced.

 

This time Changmin moved forward closed the gap between them. He took Yunho’s hands and put it around his waist. He held onto Yunho by his sturdy shoulders and said, “Just... kiss me”

 

Yunho came forward slowly and kissed him. It was a soft one at first but then it got heated like things always did between them. Yunho slowly pressed Changmin to lie down on his back all the while kissing him fervently.

 

Yunho then pulled back to look at his husband. Changmin looked back at him, his eyes blown wide, panting. Yunho flicked away a strand of hair that was covering the Omega’s beautiful face.

 

“Your eyes are so pretty”, said Yunho looking into Changmin’s eyes. Changmin immediately looked away, feeling embarrassed.

 

“And your lips”, said Yunho thumbing Changmin’s lower lip. Changmin’s tongue peeked out to lick the Alpha’s thumb.

 

“They do things to me. They did when we met the first time too”, confessed Yunho as he took Changmin’s hand and put it on his cock which rapidly hardened in his husband’s hands. Changmin squeezed it a bit. Yunho moaned in response.

 

The Alpha moved down a bit on Changmin’s neck where the mating bite was placed. Changmin dragged his nails across Yunho’s back. Yunho pulled back and Changmin saw his eyes flashing red for a moment.

 

Yunho moved downwards and nipped Changmin’s stomach a bit. Changmin gasped in surprise as he felt Yunho’s tongue breach his navel slightly. Yunho pulled his tongue back only to get it back in there, thrusting it to as a precursor of what was to come. Changmin tugged on Yunho’s hair in response which turned the Alpha further on.

Yunho pulled back and sat back on his haunches. “Turn over”, he told Changmin. Changmin complied immediately. Yunho spread Changmin’s legs wide. Changmin whined when he felt Yunho nip at his inner thigh. Yunho’s hands travelled up his thighs and came to a rest on his ass.

 

Changmin’s toes curled in anticipation, he knew what was coming as Yunho parted his cheeks. Yunho wasted no time in penetrating Changmin with his tongue. Changmin buried his face in the pillow trying to muffle the obscene moans that were coming out of him.     

 

Soon he felt three of Yunho’s fingers taking the place of his tongue. Changmin jolted when Yunho’s fingers pressed against his prostate.  Changmin bit his lips trying not to come but the Alpha kept relentlessly massaging the area.

 

Yunho could fingers were getting wetter and wetter as he fingered Changmin.  The Omega was muffling his noises, Yunho dearly wished to take the pillow away so that he could hear those needy noises that his husband was making. He already was so worked up while they were making out. When Yunho felt slick trailing down his fingers to his wrist, he couldn’t resist himself from taking a lick. And soon that wasn’t enough so his pulled his fingers out, earning a protesting whine from the Omega.

 

Yunho dived in pulling Changmin’s asscheeks apart and licked into the hole. Changmin thighs tensed away as he got closer to his orgasm. Yunho closed his lips against his hole and gave a hard suck.

 

“Yun...”, was all Changmin could say in warning before he squirted. Yunho lapped it all up enthusiastically taking his fill of the Omega. By the time Yunho pulled back, there was a thin string of slick that was connecting his lips and the Omega’s glistening hole. Yunho licked his lips looking at the panting Omega coming down from his orgasm. Changmin’s hands moved towards his cock to try and relieve himself.

 

Yunho couldn’t hold himself any longer he raised Changmin onto his knees. He brought his hands and softly palmed the Omega’s heavy balls.

 

“That’s quite a heavy load especially when you have just squirted”, said Yunho nipping at Changmin’s ear. Changmin’s moaned softly in response. Yunho knew that his mate had a thing for dirty-talking.

 

“Bet you are gonna blow as soon as I get in you”, said Yunho squeezing Changmin’s thighs.

 

“Yeah, don’t bet on it”, scoffed back Changmin.

 

“We will see”, challenged Yunho before took his hot and hard cock his hand and entered the Omega in one go. Changmin bit his lips trying hard not come right then.

 

“You are so stubborn”, whispered Yunho in Changmin’s ears before he gave a hard thrust. Changmin’s heart was beating fast, he was panting like he had run a thousand miles, he was feeling hot all over. Suddenly he felt the tip of the Alpha’s finger breach the slit of his cock and that was it, he was coming.

 

Yunho pulled Changmin back onto him so he could support the Omega as he relentlessly kept fucking into him. Changmin’s orgasm was making him relaxed allowing Yunho to work his knot even deeper into the Omega.

 

Changmin groaned as he felt Yunho’s knot swelling and subsequently pushing against his prostate. Changmin shivered as he felt Yunho pushing hair away from his face carefully. Yunho titled Changmin’s chin a bit before they were kissing, all tongue and grunts. Yunho bit Changmin’s lips as he started emptying inside the Omega.

 

After they broke the kiss, Yunho laid them both on the bed side by side while waiting for his knot to come down. Yunho’s hand automatically travelled to Changmin’s belly. This was different from all the other times he had knotted Changmin. This wasn’t just for pleasure, Changmin could be carrying by the end of it. Yunho moaned as the thought pulled out a huge spurt of come from him. Changmin let out a low whine at that and moved his hand to join Yunho’s hand that was resting on his stomach.

 

The knot took a long time to come down. Changmin winced was Yunho slipped out of him carefully. But soon he felt Yunho insert something into him, as it was pushed deeper Changmin realized that it was a buttplug, making sure all the come stayed in.

 

Changmin toes curled in anticipation as this was just the first of many knottings that would happen before the dawn broke.

 

* * *

 

Next evening saw Changmin refusing drinks served during Taemin and Jongin's engagement party. One of the biggest things that Changmin had to give up was alcohol, now that he was trying to get pregnant. It saddened Changmin to turn away good Champagne but he had decided to make up for it by eating lots of meat.

 

“Woah, you are refusing drinks”, asked Taemin surprised when he made his way to the Omega.

 

“Ah, Taemin-ah”, Changmin got up from his chair to hug Taemin but he winced as he stood. He was pretty sore.

 

“You alright”, asked Taemin a little worried.

 

“Yeah, just slight cramp”, lied Changmin knowing that Taemin being the naive little soul he was would never doubt it.

 

Taemin nodded sympathetically and went in for a hug.

 

Once they pulled back, Changmin complimented him, "You look happy"

 

Taemin smiled and opened his mouth to say something but he paused when he noticed something at a distance. Changmin got curious and turned to the same direction.

 

It was Jongin with his father. He seemed to be trying to talk to him but his father was more interested in finishing his drink. He reminded Changmin a lot of his own father.

 

“You think Jongin is happy”, asked Taemin suddenly after a while of silence which surprised Changmin a bit.

 

“You think he isn’t”, asked Changmin turning to Taemin, trying to gauge the younger Omega.

 

“His father is already drunk”, remarked Taemin in lieu of an answer.

 

“At least, he is here”, remarked Changmin with a shrug.

 

“Yeah”, said Taemin grabbing a drink from a passing waiter ready to down it. But Changmin took it away from his hand before he could.

 

“I know a thing or two about dealing with disappointed fathers. You just gotta let it go at one point. He’s had more than four years to deal with your relationship, if he can’t then there’s just nothing that could be done about it”, said Changmin bluntly.

 

“I still can’t help but feel guilty”, said Taemin looking away, trying to hide his disappointment. And Changmin honestly understood that feeling, sometimes you can't help but feel guilty about the things you couldn't control. But regardless of that, it was important to focus on the bright aspects of things too, as Yunho would say.

 

“Have you ever seen him happy around his father”, asked Changmin earnestly.

 

Taemin's silence was enough of an answer. Jongin's issues with his father started way before Taemin came into his life. It's just that Jongin started to speak out about it only when he decided to go against his father's wishes and date him. Taemin understood all of that, Jongin himself had explained it to him numerous times. Yet, it still made Taemin feel shitty.

 

When Changmin knew that Taemin wouldn't reply, he tried a different approach, “Forget that, when have you seen Jongin being happy”

 

Taemin had to think about that one not because there were few moments but because there were far too many of them to pinpoint a single one. Jongin always had a shit-eating grin whenever he managed to beat Taemin in video games or any games in general. Jongin would sometimes get ecstatic about work when his ideas get approved or when he saw them to fruition. But suddenly he was reminded of the first time they had met, the excited smile Jongin had on his when Taemin had said that yes, he would like to hang out at the arcade after school, with him. That smile had made Taemin excited and nervous at the same time, like he knew it was going to be the start of something beautiful. It was the same feeling he had mere minutes ago when Jongin took his hand to slip the ring on his finger.

 

Jongin then suddenly turned with a tired exhale of breath, as an outlet for his frustration of not getting through to his father. When his eyes fell on Taemin, his lips automatically curled into a tired smile. Taemin couldn't help but return it with a soft smile of his own.

 

“This is one of those instances, right”, Taemin was surprised as Changmin spoke looking at Jongin.

 

Jongin then smiled and beckoned to him.

 

"Cheer up", said Changmin and pushed him lightly towards Jongin. Taemin turned to smile at Changmin before making his way to his fiance.

 

Changmin was surprised when he felt someone blow at his loose strand of hair. Changmin flicked his hair back into position and glared at the offender, the only one who would dare to do that. Yunho gave him a mischievous smile in return.

 

"Do I need to remind you that you are a 34 year old man", chided Changmin.

 

"I will be doing this when I am 84 too", shot back Yunho with a grin.

 

Changmin just shook his head at his antics. That's what he got for marrying a man-child.

 

“We never had one of these”, remarked Yunho looking at the newly engaged couple. Changmin noticed that the Alpha looked a little regretful.

 

“We were in too much of a hurry to get married”, said Changmin with a shrug.

 

Yunho turned to him with a pensive smile and said, “If we had a longer engagement I fear you might have dumped me”

 

Changmin frowned at him, surprised at the statement. He was about to ask if Yunho was serious about it when his phone started ringing.

 

Changmin pulled his phone out to check the caller. It read 'Dr. Ahn'.

 

“It’s my doctor”, Changmin said to Yunho looking very confused as to why he would be calling him.

 

Changmin handed over the Champagne glass he was holding to Yunho and then picked up the call.

 

“Hello”, the Omega tentatively greeted.

 

Yunho was unsure what to do with the glass. He didn't want to drink. He surreptitiously placed it on the tray of a passing waiter.

 

“What is it?”, he heard Changmin ask sounding tensed.

Yunho frowned as he turned back to his husband.

“Yeah, I can make it”, said Changmin before he hung up, looking worried.

 

“What happened”, asked Yunho immediately.

 

“He wants me to come in. He said he wanted to talk about my results”, replied Changmin quite perplexed.

 

“You just had a physical done, right”, asked Yunho to make sure.

 

“Yeah”, confirmed Changmin with a nod. Changmin couldn’t help but feel concerned about the whole thing. He did take a pregnancy test in the morning which turned out to be negative. Besides, Dr. Ahn’s tone on the phone sounded too severe for a good news.

 

“We can just directly head out from here”, said Yunho glancing at his watch. Changmin just absently nodded at that.

 

* * *

 

As both Yunho and Changmin entered the doctor’s office, Dr. Ahn stood up and greeted them politely. Dr. Ahn had been treating Changmin’s mother for about 7 years now. Changmin quite liked his attentiveness and quick diagnosis so Changmin made him his primary care provider too.

 

“Duke Jung, it’s good you are here too”, said Dr.Ahn with a serious expression. Yunho looked towards Changmin half-confused, half-concerned. Changmin’s worry just ratcheted up.

 

“Please, sit down”, said Dr. Ahn before all of them took a seat.

 

Dr.Ahn cleared his throat, locked his hands together, placed on top of his desk and said,

“Your screening for Wolfsbane Syndrome came out positive”

 

Changmin thought he must have heard something wrong, he just blinked in confusion.

 

“It is in its earliest stage. So, that’s a good thing”, explained Dr.Ahn further.

 

Changmin just sat there is silence absorbing the information. Every year during his physical, they do a mandatory Wolfsbane Syndrome screening because it could be genetically transmitted. Changmin never really gave it a good thought, he was fit, had a very healthy lifestyle. But now they were saying that he was sick. What could have gone wrong ? He felt fine, physically.

 

“So, what next”, Yunho’s voice jolted Changmin out of his thoughts.

 

“Usually, it’s the patient’s decision if they want to receive treatment and try to contain it to a minimum or go for surgery. A lot of people lack the means but that won’t be a problem for you so I would strongly recommend surgery”, replied Dr.Ahn.

 

“How soon can we get that started”, asked Yunho but at the same time Changmin asked, “What are my chances”

 

Yunho looked at Changmin, worried. He didn’t want to think about chances. Changmin was going to make it through this!

 

“What are my chances with the surgery”, repeated Changmin.

 

Dr. Ahn took a deep breath and then launched into a calm explanation, “As you are aware, the surgery itself has a 70 percent chance of success. You are young and maintain an active and healthy lifestyle. I would say your chances are much better than anyone else”

 

“How soon can we setup a date for surgery”, asked Yunho, impatient. All this talks about chances of survival was making him distraught.

 

“Not immediately”, replied Dr. Ahn. Yunho looked at him, baffled. Why wait when they detected it early ? It made no sense whatsoever!

 

“The affected area, it has to be of a certain minimum size to be operated. Since, it’s still early we will have to wait until it gets to that size”, explained Dr.Ahn patiently.

 

“You are going to let it grow”, exclaimed Yunho, quite horrified that they were asking Changmin to suffer through it.

 

Dr.Ahn was quick to explain, “There is no other way out. The same procedure that was done for Mrs. Shim except she had to go through additional treatment because the affected area was close to hitting the maximum size”

 

“Yeah, I get that”, finally Changmin spoke after a long stretch of silence, surprising Yunho.

 

“I will set up an appointment for 3 months from now, I am expecting it to have reached that size by then or at least close to it. We will observe it and then set up the date for the surgery. Meanwhile, I will prescribe you some painkillers to deal with abdominal pain as the disease progresses”, said Dr.Ahn writing out a prescription.

 

“You can only take 4 within 24 hours. If that’s not enough or if you feel any kind of dizziness or weakness, please come in at once. The weakness or dizziness usually happens if the affected area reaches close to the maximum size. I do not expect yours to but just want you to be aware”, informed Dr.Ahn as he held out the prescription.

 

Changmin was far too distracted, he wasn’t even looking at the doctor, his mind was miles away. Yunho reached out and took the prescription from Dr.Ahn’s hands.

 

After they walked out of the doctor’s office, Changmin went completely silent. He seemed to be deep in thought. Yunho asked him to wait while he went and picked up the prescription. when he came back, he saw that the Omega was sitting in the same position without stirring.

 

“Changdol-ah”, Yunho called out to get his attention. Changmin snapped out of his thoughts and stood up. They silently headed to their car, Yunho getting progressively worried.

 

When they reached the car, Changmin turned to Yunho with the keys in his hands.

“I am sorry but could you drive”, asked Changmin handing over the keys to him.

 

“Of course”, said Yunho softly but Changmin just walked to the passenger’s side.

 

Changmin looked out of the window the whole ride, not even glancing at Yunho once. Yunho just couldn’t find it in him to break the silence. It was very evident that Changmin was still processing the whole thing and wasn’t ready to talk about it. Yunho himself was out of sorts to strike up any kind of conversation just to break the silence that had fallen between them.

 

Once they reached home, Changmin just directly went to the bathroom and locked himself in. Yunho spend some seconds staring at the bathroom door, trying to figure out if he should try knocking and talk to Changmin or give him some space. Even though Yunho’s instincts were telling him to go with the first option but his mind told him that it would be better to give the Omega some space. By experience he knew nothing could come out pushing Changmin for something that he wasn’t ready to share so he wisely retreated to the living room.

 

Even there Yunho felt restless. He had no idea how to cope with the whole thing. He wanted to protect Changmin from any pain or harm but it was really out of his hands. He felt helpless and refused to even acknowledge the fact that there was a sliver of a chance of Changmin not living through the illness.

Yunho pulled out his IPad and scoured the internet about the ‘Wolfsbane Syndrome’. He read through forums after forums about people’s experiences, trying to assuage his own fears.

 

"Yunho", Changmin’s voice surprised Yunho as he noticed that he had already been reading for over 45 minutes.

 

"Yes", replied Yunho sitting up straight in alert. He took in Changmin’s appearance, seemed like the Omega had taken a shower, he was dressed in a bathrobe and slippers, his eyes looked tired.

 

"I was thinking, maybe we should hold off telling about it to our families and friends until the surgery date has been decided", said Changmin, his face carefully blank.

 

"You sure about that? You won't be able to talk to anyone about it. A lot of times it helps to share", said Yunho, not quite onboard with Changmin’s decision.

 

"I have been on the other side of this. It's so much worse not knowing what will happen next. Once we have the date then at least Mom won't lose her mind thinking that I am going to die", scoffed Changmin.

 

"You are not" shot back Yunho fervently.

 

"I know", said Changmin and turned away from him.

 

"I am feeling tired, I am gonna call it a night", said the Omega over his back before he walked back to their bedroom. Yunho waited for a bit and then made his way to their bedroom, he had known Changmin for a long time to know when Changmin seemed upset.

 

When he opened the door to the bedroom, he had to squint to adjust as the lights had been killed. He saw Changmin lying on the bed, facing away. Yunho could hear the sniffles. He immediately got on the bed behind Changmin and buried his face in the Omega’s neck.

 

Changmin was crying, his sobs were breaking Yunho’s heart. Yunho opened his mouth to console the Omega but words just didn’t come out. What could he say, he himself was distraught. He wanted someone to slap him and wake him up from this nightmare. Yunho suddenly realized that he was crying too. Yunho just held on tightly to his husband, seeking comfort and hoping that he could provide some semblance of comfort to Changmin.

 

Yunho felt like a failure in life as he watched his husband cry himself to sleep. Yunho just sat there and stared at the face of his now asleep husband. He was suddenly reminded how much time in his day, he didn’t get to spend with Changmin. On weekdays, he was busy, he only managed to have breakfast with Changmin but he didn’t see him for the rest of the day. He returned home late. Changmin would either be busy himself or passed out on the couch, television still playing if he had decided to wait for Yunho.

 

Their weekends were the only free time most of which they spent fucking or beating each other at video games. Yes, it was a fulfilling relationship but now it just didn’t seem enough. They didn’t do what other married couples would usually do. They didn’t go on a second honeymoon, nor did they go out on special dates. There are so many things Yunho had wished to do with Changmin but he always kept postponing it because he thought he had the luxury of time. But now, he wished he would have done all of that rather than sit here and regret.

 

* * *

 

Six weeks later...

 

Changmin unlocked the door to his home, panting and sweating from the jog he was returning from.

 

"Where were you", demanded Yunho sternly, as soon as Changmin stepped in. Changmin did not appreciate it at all.

 

"Just out. Jogging", said Changmin still catching his breath.

 

"You could have told me, I would have come along", insisted Yunho.

 

"When did you become my bodyguard", scoffed Changmin. he was about to take a step forward but he suddenly felt imbalanced. Before he realized, he dropped down on the couch feeling faint. Changmin closed his eyes but he still felt dizzy.

 

"Shit", cursed Yunho before he rushed to Changmin.

 

"I am fine. It was really hot out there, I just need some water", waved off Changmin. Yunho rushed to get Changmin a glass of water. Changmin carefully took it from him and started drinking it in small sips.

 

"Why did you have to go out? We have a perfectly functioning indoor gym", demanded Yunho agitated.

 

"Because you would just follow me in there, watch me like a hawk and panic every time I am out of breath", shot back Changmin irritated.

 

"If I stop doing that, will you promise to stick to the indoor gym", asked Yunho seriously.

 

Changmin scoffed at him in disbelief.

 

"Promise? I will go out if and when I want to", said Changmin pressing the cool glass to his forehead.

 

Yunho clicked his tongue and sat down beside Changmin.

 

"Why are you being so difficult", he asked frowning.

 

"Me ? You are the one being difficult", countered Changmin.

 

"Maybe, I have been a bit overprotective lately. But can you blame me for that ? What would you do if you were in my position", argued Yunho.

 

"Not treat my husband like an invalid", shot back Changmin in anger.

 

Yunho was quick to defend, "When have I..."

 

But Changmin cut in before he could finish, "Haven't you? So, it’s normal for you to come home from the office by 5 pm, every day ? You even come home for lunch. You insist on eating every meal together! You tag along with me everywhere or have Taemin do it. Feels like I am under a witness protection program or worse"

 

Changmin turned away from Yunho, feeling his irritation rising.

 

“Yah! Am I not allowed to care about you, now”, asked Yunho feeling hurt by Changmin’s words.

 

“No, not like this”, said Changmin turning to Yunho

 

“So, I should just go on like everything is fine”, asked Yunho infuriated.

 

“I see you here on time, everyday and that reminds me of the reason you are doing it. I want so desperately to forget about it for even one second but you ...”, Changmin couldn’t complete his sentence his frustration getting the better of him.

 

“I can’t forget, ok ? Not even for a second or a moment. It’s all I can think about”, shot back Yunho agitated as he got up from the couch and turned away from him.

 

“You are talking like I am about to drop dead anytime now”, shouted Changmin.

 

“Don’t”, said Yunho firmly. Changmin knew that tone, it was better to shut up.

 

“Please don’t joke about it”, said Yunho turning to Changmin. That was when Yunho’s eyes welled up and that just immediately drained all the fight out of him.

 

“Yunho”, said Changmin, concerned. Yunho waved him off and retreated to his office. Changmin ran his hands through his face and took a deep breath. He shouldn’t have taken his frustration out on Yunho. Yunho was as equally scared and worried as him, if not more.

 

Changmin went to Yunho’ s office room. He found the Alpha sitting in his chair, his face is buried in his hands.

 

“Yunho‘, called out Changmin but he got no response. Changmin sighed and pulled a chair up sit beside the alpha.

 

“I want things to be normal. I want us to be the way we have always been”, said Changmin, honestly.

 

“It’s hard for me”, replied Yunho, his face still buried in his hands, voice a bit shaky.

 

“Yunho”, said Changmin squeezing the Alpha’s shoulder.

 

“Sorry, I am just.... I am not handling this, like at all”, said Yunho pulling his hands away, sniffling. Changmin took in his red eyes and felt his own eyes well up immediately.

 

Yunho looked up towards the ceiling to hold his tears back.

 

“God, I have no right to say anything when you have been so brave about this”, said Yunho wiping of the few tears that had escaped even though he put up a valiant effort.

 

“You have every right to. It’s ok to cry, you know. There is no one judging you, it’s just me here”, said Changmin pulling Yunho’s hands away.

 

Yunho lowered his head closing his eyes, feeling overwhelmed. Changmin reached out and ran his fingers through Yunho’s hair to console him. Yunho opened his eyes after a while and noticed the tears in Changmin’s eyes. He immediately pulled Changmin into a tight hug.

 

“Min-ah, I am scared”, said Yunho between his sniffles.

 

“Me too”, said Changmin running his hands across Yunho’s back, trying to comfort him.

 

“And, I love you so much. I want you to be alright”, said Yunho before a sob escaped from him. Yunho’s hold was so tight that it was crushing Changmin but he didn’t say anything. He just continued to hold on to his Alpha silently.

* * *

 

It had been a couple of weeks since their last fight. Yunho had conceded on a lot of things. He now worked his normal hours at the office, he had stopped tagging along with Changmin everywhere but in turn he called Changmin very frequently to check on him, which Changmin was sort of okay with.

 

However, he wouldn’t budge on the workout thing. Therefore, while Changmin was working out on the elliptical, Yunho was just beside him on the treadmill.

 

When Changmin stepped down from the elliptical, his feet felt wobbly. He held the elliptical for support but soon he felt like the room was slowly spinning.

 

Yunho immediately noticed it and rushed to his side.

 

“Changdol”, he called out worried, holding Changmin’s hands.

 

“It’s ok, I just need to sit down”, waved off Changmin as Yunho helped him take a seat on the weight bench.

 

“It’s not. You have been feeling nauseous on and off. And now this”, countered Yunho vehemently.

 

“Nausea is not really a symptom of Wolfsbane Syndrome. It could be due to anxiety. We both have been really stressed about the whole thing”, argued Changmin, closing his eyes shut to deal with the dizziness.

 

“Doctor asked you to inform him immediately if you feel any dizziness”, said Yunho taking out his phone.

 

Changmin clicked his tongue in frustration. Yunho was clearly over-reacting.

 

Changmin said,“I tend to go ham on cardio when I am stressed. It’s normal ...”

 

He trailed off as he heard Yunho already talking to his doctor on the phone. After he hung up, he  turned to Changmin and asked, “Can you go like this or do you need to change”

 

“I need a fucking shower”, growled Changmin in frustration.

 

* * *

 

 

“I will be honest,  I haven’t seen anything like this in my career”, said Dr. Ahn still double-checking Changmin’s reports.

 

Dr. Ahn had put Changmin through several tests as soon as Yunho had arrived with him.

 

“What is it?”, asked Yunho, impatiently.

 

Dr.Ahn took a deep breath and replied, “The scans show that your affected area has decreased”

 

“What”, exclaimed Changmin. Such a thing was unheard of!

 

“Somehow your natural healing is getting the better of this disease”, insisted Dr. Ahn.

 

Changmin was all sorts of confused. He read up a great deal about the disease since his mother was diagnosed with it. A werewolf’s natural healing would never be enough for it, that is why treatment was necessary.

 

Changmin trailed off saying, “I thought...”

 

But Dr. Ahn did understand what he meant so he handed over the comparative scans and said, “I know, it shouldn’t be possible but you can see it for yourself”

 

“But that still doesn’t explain why Changminnie is still experiencing all those symptoms”, said Yunho unconvinced.

 

“Other than the nausea and dizziness after workout, is there something else that happened? Like abdominal pains”, asked Dr. Ahn.

 

“No abdominal pains, I haven’t even touched the medication. Just feel like my stomach has gone a bit sensitive. I have felt like vomiting a few times. But nothing other than that”, replied Changmin carefully churning through everything he had experienced in the 2 months since he had been diagnosed with the disease.

 

“His scent has changed”, suddenly Yunho added in. Changmin had almost forgotten about that. Yunho had told him some weeks ago that his scent had changed. Changmin couldn’t really tell so he asked if he smelled like he was sick. Yunho had vehemently denied that but he wasn’t quite able to explain what it smelled like only the fact that Yunho liked it.

 

“Would make sense”, Dr.Ahn mumbled to himself

 

“Sorry”, asked Changmin, not quite able to make out anything from the doctor’s mumbling.

 

“One’s natural healing cannot keep up with the affected area when suffering from Wolfsbane Syndrome. But somehow you are able to. This could mean you are getting aided by something or rather someone”, explained Dr.Ahn, almost like he was talking to himself.

 

“You have lost me entirely”, said Changmin confused.

 

Dr.Ahn suddenly got up from his chair and said, “I apologize. I am going down to the lab and have them test for something else with the sample they drew from you”

 

Yunho and Changmin just looked at each other confused when the doctor walked out of the room.

 

After some time passed, Dr. Ahn thankfully came back with some more reports in his hands. He seemed to be in high spirits. Changmin felt like he was in twilight-zone.

 

“Duke Jung, Duke Shim”, greeted Dr.Ahn with a smile.

 

“I believe congratulations are in order”, he added waving the reports. Yunho and Changmin just looked at each other, very lost.

 

“Changmin-ssi, you are pregnant”, said Dr. Ahn.

 

Yunho and Changmin both sat there stunned. Both unable to process the sequence of events. Dr.Ahn gave them a few moments to process it but when the silence grew uncomfortably longe, Dr.Ahn just started talking about what he had deduced from the reports and tests.

 

“You are 8 weeks along which would mean that you got pregnant around the time you were diagnosed with Wolfsbane Syndrome”, he said.

 

Changmin knew it was the first time they had tried because soon after Changmin had been diagnosed with Wolfsbane syndrome and they had sort of put it on the backburner as Yunho said that Changmin’ s health was top priority.

 

“There have been studies about it saying it’s theoretically possible that the baby’s healing abilities could help the carrier’s healing too. Most cases, the baby’s healing isn’t strong enough because they are still very small. But surprisingly, your baby’s healing is strong enough to fight off the Wolfsbane”, said Dr. Ahn with a kind smile.

 

Yunho’s hand immediately went to Changmin’s stomach as soon as he heard that. He was feeling so many emotions at the same time. Joy, awe, confusion but most importantly thankful towards his child for protecting Changmin where he couldn’t.  

 

“The rate at which the healing is going, I am predicting that the affected area will be gone in a couple of months”, said Dr. Ahn closing the reports.

 

“So, Changminnie is going to be fine”, asked Yunho, Changmin had always been his priority.

 

“Yes”, said Dr. Ahn with a nod.

 

“The baby”, asked Changmin, who finally spoke up after a long while of silence.

 

“More than fine”, said Dr. Ahn with a reassuring smile. Changmin looked at Yunho with pure joy in his face, they could just hold hands in the presence of the doctor.

 

Dr. Ahn realized that it was a private moment that he shouldn’t further intrude on so he took his leave, “I will give you both sometime. I am going to talk to our gynaecology specialist and set up an appointment for you”

 

As soon as Dr. Ahn left, Changmin pulled Yunho in for a desperate kiss. When the separated, Yunho hugged Changmin tightly.

 

“You are crushing the baby”, warned Changmin.

 

“Sorry”, said Yunho immediately pulling back, worried. Changmin couldn’t suppress his laugh, he was so going to milk this overreacting Yunho for the rest of his pregnancy.

 

“I am kidding”, he said before he smiled and hugged a relieved Yunho.

 

* * *

 

Three months later...

 

“No, Mom. You are not moving in here”, said Changmin into the phone. Changmin had just gotten out of shower when his mother called. Yunho had very reluctantly gone out of country for an unavoidable business deal and now Changmin’s mother was insisting that either he moves in with her or she would move him with him because she believed that Changmin should not be alone at the later stages of his pregnancy.

 

And truly, Changmin understood and appreciated his mother. But he needed his own space.

 

“I am not moving back in with you”, said Changmin.

 

“You are making a mountain out of a molehill. Yunho is just gone for 3 days”, exclaimed Changmin when his mother wouldn’t budge.

 

“I gotta eat, now. Bye”, Changmin finally said before he hung up. Pregnancy was making him more cranky than usual.

 

He ventured out to the living room to see his mother-in-law seated there with a newspaper in her hand. Shit, how long had she been here ?

 

“Ommo-nim”, greeted Changmin, holding onto his baby bump to bow to her.

 

“You don’t need to bow”, said Yunho’s mother quickly.

Changmin nodded and stood there awkwardly.

 

“Yunho had an early morning flight to catch to Japan. He will be gone for 3 days”, said Changmin guessing that she probably came here to visit Yunho.

 

“I am aware of it”, she said with a nod. Well, Changmin was out of topics of conversation. He was hungry so he decided to get some food before trying to attempt another awkward conversation with his mother-in-law.

 

While he was turning towards the kitchen, Yunho’s mother said, “I asked Yundol what you liked to eat, all he said was ‘meat’. So, I made you samgyeopsal”

 

Changmin wondered if he had knocked his head somewhere and was now dreaming. Though, he immediately recovered and bowed to say, “Thank You”

 

“No, just stop bowing”, insisted Yunho’s mother stopping him from bowing once again.

 

* * *

 

Changmin had a sense of dejavu while he was sitting across from Yunho’s mother eating the delicious meal she had made for him. It was eerily similar to the first time they had met. Changmin could sense a ‘talk’ coming.  

 

“How are you holding up”, asked Yunho’s mother.

 

Okay, tame question.

 

“Pretty good. Morning sickness hasn’t hit, yet”, replied Changmin politely before putting more food on his plate.

 

“When I had Yunho, I didn’t have any problems. It was smooth sailing all along”, she said with a smile. Changmin could count in his hands how many times she had smiled at him in the 4 years that he had been married to Yunho.

 

“It’s a little weird between us, isn’t it”, she said with a tight smile.

 

Just saying that increased the awkwardness by tenfold.

 

Changmin immediately apologized, “I am sorry...”

 

But Yunho’s mother cut in, “Don’t apologize. I am the one to be blamed”

 

“It’s a two-way street so I am sure I should be shouldering half the blame”, said Changmin honestly.

 

Yunho’s mother looked at him for a bit before she said, “You are a good kid”

 

Changmin looked at her, confused. the whole thing was surreal.

 

“Honestly, I am not sorry about how I talked to you when we first met. I was looking out for my son”, defended Yunho’s mother.

 

“But all these years I could clearly see that Yunho was in love with you and you loved him back. Most importantly, you have made him so happy. It’s better than what any mother could wish for her child. I should have tried to reconcile with you but my ego wouldn’t let me. It’s always hard to admit mistakes”, she added.

 

It was highly uncomfortable to have someone so much older than you apologize to you so Changmin said, “You don’t have to...”

 

“No, I want to”, she insisted. Changmin shut his mouth and decided to give her the due respect by listening to her.

 

“I have doubted if you could be a good match for Yunho. I even doubted if you would make a good father. Well, I was wrong”, she admitted.

 

Changmin looked at her surprised. She nodded at him to affirm what she had said.

 

“Yunho is lucky to have you as his husband. Your child will be lucky to have you as their father”, she added.

 

“You think so”, asked Changmin self-deprecatingly.

 

“I know so”, she insisted.

 

Changmin just looked away shyly and concentrated on his food.

 

“I have wanted to ask you something for a long time, now”, she asked seriously.

 

“What”, asked Changmin, feeling a little worried.

 

“How is it that you eat so much and still remain so skinny”, she asked with a mischievous smile having trolled Changmin.

 

Changmin couldn’t help but break into a laugh.

 

“Ah, so that’s the mismatched-eyes Eunchae keeps talking about”, remarked Yunho’s mother in awe as she witnessed it for the first time.

 

* * *

 

One month later...

 

“Which one”, asked Yunho putting two suits side by side. Yunho had been trying to different suits to finalize one to wear for Taemin and Jongin’s wedding.

 

“None”, said Changmin from his comfortable place on the bed.

“Really”, asked Yunho, a little disappointed because these were his best suits.

 

“Yeah, I prefer you in your birthday suit”, said Changmin his eyes firmly embedded on Yunho’s crotch. God, Yunho had been stripteasing in lieu of trying on different suits. Changmin had gotten so worked up.

 

“Wow that’s....”, Yunho trailed off feeling a little embarrassed.

 

“Blatant, unsubtle, horny”, said Changmin giving Yunho a smoldering look.

 

“I was going to say flattering”, said Yunho cheekily

 

“Takes your pants off already”, demanded Changmin getting impatient.

 

“Eager, are we”, said Yunho getting on the bed. Yunho put his hands up Changmin’s robe and was delighted to find him going commando.

 

“Fuck, you should just always go commando at home”, said Yunho as he breached Changmin’s hole with his fingers, still loose from their morning fuck.

 

Changmin gasped at the sudden intrusion. He had hit the horny trimester but Yunho was almost always up for it since Changmin started showing. Yunho wouldn’t admit but he did had a thing for how Changmin’s body looked during pregnancy. Changmin had been going commando mostly at home for the ease of access because they ultimately just end up fucking.

 

Changmin had been so inspired, the filth he was pouring into his erotica, those things were going to sell off like hot cakes as soon as they released.

 

Yunho untied his robe and lowered his face to the Omega’s chest. Changmin’s pecs had become bigger, his nipples extremely sensitive. Yunho could play with them all the time. Yunho bit at Changmin’s left nipple. The Omega jolted up immediately. Yunho held his hands down as he continued his assault on his nipples. He closed his mouth against them and gave them a hard suck. Changmin was panting hard, unable to deal with the stimulation.

 

“You will be leaking down there by the time I am done here”, said Yunho with a smirk before he dove in to nip and suck at his right nipple. He brought Changmin’s hand together and held them in one hand while he used his free hand to stimulate the Omega’s left nipple by pinching and teasing it.

 

By the time Yunho pulled back, Changmin was a mess. His eyes teared up, due to overstimulation, his mouth open wide trying to catch his breath after squirting . Yunho used 3 fingers and they slid in and out of Changmin’s hole comfortably.

 

Yunho moved Changmin to breeding position and entered him from behind. He immediately started thrusting in and out of the Omega, setting an unforgiving pace. Changmin moaned loudly when Yunho found his prostate.

 

“The way we are going, if it was possible, could have fucked more babies into you right now”, said Yunho, too turned on

 

Yunho held on to Changmin’s hips and started nailing his prostate repeatedly. Changmin’s moans were becoming louder and louder. Yunho absolutely loved when Changmin was that vocal during sex.

 

Soon, Changmin climaxed, taking all the wind out of him. Yunho supported him while he kept fucking him. Soon Yunho’s knot started swelling. He gave one hard thrust and he was coming, the knot making sure that all the come was kept inside the Omega.

 

Yunho settled them to lie side by side, waiting for the knot to go down. Changmin was already drifting off to sleep.  Yunho’s eyes fell on the marks on Changmin’s hips where Yunho had grabbed a bit too enthusiastically. Yunho couldn’t help but touch the Omega’s hip once again. They definitely had widened during the course of pregnancy.

 

* * *

 

Yunho and Changmin ended in the tub to get there taking a bubble bath. Changmin was in a good mood playing around with the bubbles. Yunho couldn’t help but stare at his husband. There was a glow about him since he became pregnant. It wasn’t like Changmin didn’t glow before but he looked very different now. He had put on a little weight, his cheeks were fuller and rounder.

 

“Stop staring at me”, said Changmin splashing water at yunho.

 

“What ? Why ?”, argued Yunho trying to dodge the barrage of splashes that Changmin started throwing at him.

 

“Unless you want to go another round then stop”, said Changmin resting his back on the tub.

 

“And what if I want to stare at Jiminnie”, argued Yunho.

 

“Jiminnie”, repeated Changmin, confused. Then suddenly everything clicked in is head.

 

“You already decided on a name for our kid without consulting me, haven’t you”, accused hangmin splashing more water at Yunho.

 

“She just seemed like a Jiminnie to me”, defended Yunho dodging the splashes.

 

“You and your strange obsession with names having ‘Min’ in them”, grumbled Changmin.

 

“She will keep your last name. So that’s fair”, offered Yunho.

 

“How is that fair ? Of course, first-name is more special than last-name”, argued Changmin.

 

“That’s not true at all”, countered Yunho.

 

“Fine, then why don’t you take the last-name and let me have the first-name”, demanded Changmin.

 

“You don’t even have a name for her”, shot back Yunho at his incredulous demand.

 

“I still have time, it’s not like she is coming out tomorrow”, defended Changmin.

 

But Yunho wasn’t ready to concede.

 

Yunho insisted, “Jimin is a good name, I don’t know why we are arguing about this...”

 

He trailed off as he saw Changmin pulling out his fist ready for a round of rock-paper-scissors.

 

“Rock, paper, scissors, really”, exclaimed Yunho.

 

“Let’s settle this. Winner gets to pick the first-name”, said Changmin.

 

“This isn’t fair at all. You know I never win this”, argued Yunho.

 

“Wuss”, taunted Changmin and immediately Yunho was in. Yunho was too easy to rile up. Also, he was very predictable as he pulled out ‘rock’ and lost to Changmin’s paper.

 

“Ha”, exclaimed Changmin elated at his victory.

 

“Best of three”, insisted Yunho.

 

“No”, scoffed Changmin, why would he throw away a perfectly good victory.

 

“If you don’t put your hand out, you lose”, said Yunho and Changmin automatically threw in a rock this time to win. Yunho was so freaking predictable.

 

“Aww... would you look at that”, teased Changmin playfully hitting Yunho’s scissors with his ‘rock’.

 

“This is unfair”, whined Yunho.

 

“I won fair and square”, said Changmin obnoxiously. Yunho would just have to deal with it.

 

But Yunho still refused to give up. he placed his hand on Changmin’s baby bump and insisted, “Jimin is a nice name”

 

Yunho suddenly paused as he felt slight fluttering against his touch.

 

“Did you feel that”, asked Yunho to make sure that he wasn’t crazy. This would be the first time their baby ever kicked! Changmin’s eyes had gone wide too then it must be true.

 

“Say something, quick”, said Changmin, excited.

 

Yunho kept his hand on the bump but he bent down a little closer to it and called out, “Jimin-ah”

 

“Oh”, exclaimed Changmin as he felt a soft kick in response. Yunho was overjoyed and called out his daughter once again, “Jiminnie”

 

This time Yunho could feel the answering kick too.

 

“She likes the name”, said Yunho, bursting with happiness.

 

“That’s a stupid assumption. She’s just responding to your voice”, defended Changmin. Yunho’s logic was just stupid, he was literally making up stuff to push his narrative.

 

“Really? Let me try another name”, said Yunho.

 

“Naeun”, the Alpha called out. There was no response. Maybe their baby just got tired and stopped, this didn’t prove anything!

 

“Naeun-nie”, Yunho tried once more. No response, this time either.

 

“Nothing”, said Yunho with a shrug.

 

“She’s probably tired”, reasoned Changmin.

 

Yunho bent forward and tried again.

 

“Jimin-ah”, he called out. Changmin was surprised when the answering kick came through. Yunho looked at him smug.

 

Looked like Changmin’s daughter had already betrayed him even before she has been born!

 

* * *

 

Changmin sat down on a chair and looked at Yunho and Kim Taemin who were on the dance floor, waltzing. Yes, as of today Taemin had officially become Kim Taemin. It was a beautiful ceremony, both of them got really emotional, Jongin did end up shedding a few tears.

 

Changmin was just incredibly happy for both of them. They had been together for 10 years now and were able to take the final step even though they had opposition from both sides. Jongin’s father was still vehemently against the idea of Jongin marrying someone who wasn’t a part of high society. Taemin’s mother, though she wasn’t completely against it she still had her reservations about Jongin.

 

Still they pulled through and here they were. Taemin had wanted to ask Changmin to dance after his first dance with his husband had concluded but Changmin had made an excuse, he was in his seventh month of pregnancy. Yunho had stepped in his place. It wasn’t like Changmin couldn’t dance in his condition but it was just a good excuse to get out of a lot of things, like dancing. Changmin mentally apologized to his unborn daughter for using her like this.

 

“Ice tea or lemonade”

 

Changmin was surprised as he turned to see that Jongin was standing there with both the drinks. Jongin looks very dashing in his tux, his hair combed backwards.

 

“Ahh... you didn’t have to”, said Changmin gesturing Jongin to take a seat. Jongin put both the glasses on the table to let Changmin choose, and sat down beside him.

 

“Thank you”, said Changmin gratefully as he picked up the Ice tea.

 

“I wanted to ask you for a dance but...”, trailed off Jongin looking at Changmin’s baby bump.

 

“Don’t chance it, if I step on your foot you will be out of commission”, scoffed Changmin.

 

Jongin smiled at that. He took a deep breath as if he was preparing to say something. Changmin didn’t hurry him, he waited.

 

“I just wanted to thank you for everything”, said Jongin earnestly.

 

Changmin opened his mouth to contradict but Jongin was having none of it.

 

“Not just for always helping fix things between me and Taeminnie. If it hadn’t been for you and Yunho-hyung backing me up, I don’t know where I would have been”, said Jongin

Last year, Jongin’s father had declared that he would be relinquishing his position as the CEO of the company. Everyone had expected Jongin to take over not because of nepotism but because Jongin was ideally the best candidate for it. He had been working really hard, he had built up a lot of connections, he was responsible for a lot of their successful ventures and was also doing most of the heavy-lifting in terms of executive decisions and implementations. Jongin had deserved that position more than anyone else.

 

But Jongin’s father had endorsed another person from their board to take over. Everyone felt it was unfair but the CEO still had some influence over the board’s decision so no one opposed it. The employees and the partners were disgruntled. Jongin had just wanted to quit at that point. His years of hard work had just been thrown away due to a grudge.

 

Changmin had asked him to contest the board’s decision because relinquishing something like that just to not go into an outright fight with his father was all kinds of stupid. There was keeping peace but Jongin had been severely wronged here and he needed to fight back. After long talks from him, Taemin and even Yunho, Jongin had finally contested. He won out by a majority vote because the board did think of him as deserving in the first place and also the fact he had the backing from him (as their star author and a Duke) and Yunho (who was one of the most powerful businessmen in Korea and also a royalty).

 

“You are giving us far too much credit. You would have been fine either way”, waved off Changmin.

 

“I don’t think so”, admitted Jongin honestly. He owed a lot to both Changmin and Yunho.

 

“And I am thankful to have you in our lives”, said Jongin earnestly.

 

Changmin felt a little embarrassed by the whole thing so he changed the topic, “I will be honest. I have been tough on you especially when you were...”

 

Changmin trailed off trying not to directly mention the time when Jongin was going on dates just to please his father.

 

“I understand”,  said Jongin with a nod.

 

“But, I am happy that you were able to take a stand and commit to it. I respect that”, said Changmin genuinely.

 

“Thank you”, said Jongin with a slight bow. Jongin fell silent and turned his attention towards Taemin who was dancing with Yunho. Taemin was so short compared to Yunho that it made Yunho look like a giant.

 

“And about your father”, Changmin’s voice surprised Jongin a bit.

 

Jongin turned to look at him a bit puzzled.

 

“I would say give him some more time. He attended the marriage, that’s a big win in itself”, added Changmin. Jongin sighed and shrugged. He felt like he had exhausted every option he had to make peace with his father, it just didn’t seem enough. But he knew he couldn’t make everyone happy. Currently, he was very happy and satisfied with his life. So he decided to focus on that.

 

“I was drinking that”, Changmin’s indignation snapped him out of his thoughts once again. Apparently, Taemin and Yunho had returned from the dance floor. By the looks of it, Yunho had decided to grab Changmin’s ice-tea and have a sip of it.

 

“You can have it back”, said Yunho giving the glass back to Changmin after another sip.

 

Changmin looked so affronted by Yunho’s blatant disregard, he was about to go off, “Yunho...”

 

Jongin immediately offered him the lemonade to calm him down. Taemin just shook his head at him. The Dukes could be really childish at times.

 

* * *

 

Yunho looked in awe at their bundle of joy in his arms. Their daughter had been born two days ago, weighing around 3.5 kg.

 

Yunho had cried when he held his daughter for the first time. Their daughter seemed to be happy baby so far, she was easily pacified. All she did was feed from Changmin and sleep. She basically held Yunho’ heart in her tiny fists. Yunho took in her scent she smelled like a mix of him and Changmin.

 

Yunho had dreamt of becoming a father for long but he couldn’t imagine that the real thing would be so overwhelming. He wants to protect his daughter and give her all the happiness in this world.

 

The baby looked at Yunho, going a bit cross-eyed. She was just trying to take in the faces around her.

 

“You have such big eyes, Jimin-ah”, said Yunho in awe. Changmin looked at Yunho and Jimin from the dresser. They were getting ready to greet the media who were waiting to meet the new duchess. Changmin smiled at Yunho. Yunho had been very emotional these past few days. Changmin himself had a lot of worries himself about becoming a parent but when Changmin had first held Jimin in his arms, all his worries had just vanished. Yunho and him had created something beautiful together.

 

“Just like Papa”, Yunho said placing a kiss on the top of his daughter’s head. Changmin shook his head and Yunho’s ridiculous claims, Jimin was hardly two days old it was impossible to say if she was starting to resemble anyone. Yunho kept insisting that Jimin looked a lot like Changmin. Changmin just let him live in that bubble.

 

Jimin made a little cooing noise. She moved her arms and touched Yunho’s face. Changmin immediately clicked a picture of them like that with his phone. Yunho closed his eyes and just reveled in it.

 

Changmin got up and walked towards Yunho.

 

“Do you need me to carry her? She has literally spent more time in your arms than her crib”, he asked extending his arms in offer.

 

“No, no. It’s fine”, said Yunho not even looking away from Jimin. Changmin shook his head affectionately at his husband.

 

Changmin caressed his daughter’s head and said, “Jung Jimin, you have your Dad wrapped around your little finger”

 

“Jung ? I thought you were going to get the last-name”, asked Yunho surprised.

 

“Shim Jimin just doesn’t have the same ring to it”, said Changmin with a shrug.

 

They finally stepped out to greet the press, Yunho still holding Jimin in his arms. Changmin put his hand in front of Jimin’s eyes to shield her from all the flashes that were going off. Changmin was a bit irritated, there was no need for so many cameras, they should have some consideration for the baby.

 

Suddenly Changmin felt tiny fists grabbing at his hand. And in an instant, all his irritation melted away. Changmin smiled at his precious daughter playing with his hand. Looked like Yunho wasn’t the only one she had wrapped around her little fingers.

 

* * *

 

Yunho was recording while Changmin was humming a lullaby to put Jimin to sleep. After the end of the lullaby, Changmin slowly moved Jimin a bit back from his chest to check on her.

 

“She is out like a light”, whispered Changmin before he placed her on her crib. Jimin was just such a happy child. She literally had no tantrums. Changmin’s mother had been amazed because Changmin was a bit of  a fussy child himself because she like Yunho believed that Jimin looked a lot like Changmin. Yunho’s mother and grandmother said that Yunho used to be like Jimin when he was a child. Jihye had taken one look at her niece and said that she looked like a mini-Changmin.

 

Changmin was about to leave the room when he noticed that Yunho was still near the crib looking gently at their daughter.

 

“She is asleep. She can’t see you, you know”, whispered Changmin.

 

Yunho nodded at Changmin but then turned back to Jimin and whispered, “I know just...”

 

He knew Yunho was really sad about having to work long hours when Jimin was so young, with the fear that he would miss important moments with her. Yunho tried to spend as much time he could with her but he still had responsibilities. Yunho was always trying his best for Jimin, in Changmin’s eyes he was a great father anyone could ever hope for.

 

“At this rate, you are going to cry when she starts going to school”, whispered Changmin teasing Yunho.

 

Yunho suddenly turned on the recorder, Changmin curiously looked at Jimin to see her smiling in her sleep.

 

“Are you having a good dream, Jimin-ah”, whispered Yunho. Changmin didn’t want to burst his bubble about the smile was more because of muscle relaxing in babies. He had read up too many books on babies and parenting. So, Changmin just kissed his precious Alpha on his cheek before he left the room to catch a bit of rest himself.

 

As soon as he stepped out, his phone started vibrating. It was the security. Changmin received the call.

 

“Earl Choi is here to meet you”, came from the other side of the phone.

 

Changmin paused for a moment. Siwon and him really hadn’t interacted at all in these 4 years. Surprisingly, Siwon and Kyuhyun’s relationship had survived. They had started over and then Kyuhyun had connected to Changmin as a friend. Changmin couldn’t really see Kyuhyun as a friend, especially with history they shared, he just felt too awkward around him. They were more like acquaintances now, if Kyuhyun occasionally called, he picked up, if Kyuhyun texted, he would reply but that was it. He didn’t hang out with Kyuhyun nor did share his personal stuff with him. Taemin had become more of a friend that way. Ultimately, Kyuhyun had become too busy and Changmin was always busy so the calls and texts were very rare nowadays.

 

Therefore, it was weird that Siwon would pay a visit after so many years. Then, he remembered that he might just have come here to congratulate them on having a baby.

 

“Send him in, please”, said Changmin before he hung up.

 

Soon enough Siwon entered with a huge bouquet of roses in his hands and a smile on his face. Changmin felt really uncomfortable by the size of the bouquet, the man’s habit to show off hadn’t changed at all. Changmin gave him a stiff smile as he asked Siwon to place the bouquet on the table.

 

“You look good”, said Siwon turning to Changmin.

 

“Thank you”, said Changmin automatically.

 

“Kyu is out of the country so it’s only me”, said Siwon pursing his lips.

 

“Ah yes, he told me he had a shoot”, remembered Changmin. Kyuhyun had sent him a text congratulating him when Jimin was born saying that he won’t be able to come and see her because he had an out-of-country schedule.

 

“Please sit down”, requested Siwon. Changmin gestured for him to take a seat as well.

 

“Jiminnie just went to sleep, Yunho is with her”, informed Changmin. Siwon nodded with a smile.

 

“I wanted to come meet you when Kyu told me about your health but I wasn’t sure I would be welcome”, said Siwon pursing his lips. Changmin just didn’t know how to reply to that. He really wouldn’t have wanted to meet Siwon either way.

 

“All these years, I should have tried to fix things between us but it was just easier to stay bitter”, admitted Siwon

 

Changmin really didn’t care to fix things between them. But he remembered Kyu’s numerous requests of to not antagonize Siwon so he kept quiet.

 

“When I heard about your health, I realized that life’s too short and that there’s something you should know”, said Siwon.

 

Changmin had a bad feeling about this.

 

Siwon took a deep breath and said, “I still love you”

 

The whole thing was highly inappropriate and Changmin immediately countered,  “I don’t think...”

 

Siwon immediately launched into an explanation, “Don’t get me wrong, I do love Kyuhyun. But I just can’t erase all my feelings for you even if I wanted to”

 

“What are you trying to say”, shot back Changmin losing his patience.

 

“I wanted to apologize for how I have treated you all these years”, replied Siwon stunning Changmin into complete silence. He didn’t see that coming.

 

“Just because you didn’t love me back, I had no right to lash out at you or actively try to force you into a marriage”, said Siwon.

 

Changmin just looked away from Siwon, everytime he was reminded of how Siwon had treated him when Changmin was being forced into a marriage of convenience, it angered him.

 

“I know you, I am not stupid enough to expect forgiveness from you”, said Siwon with a sigh.

 

Well, he at least had some brains to know that.

 

“I just want you to know that I wish for you and your family to be always happy. Really”, urged Siwon.

 

Changmin remained silent. He didn’t owe the man any response. Siwon realized that he had overstayed his welcome so slowly got up and took his leave.

 

When he reached the door, Changmin called out to him, “Siwon-ssi”

 

Siwon looked back at him with hope in his eyes.

 

“Please take good care of Kyuhyun”, said Changmin with a polite bow, his face stoic.

 

“You don’t even have to ask”, said Siwon with a regretful smile and finally walked out of the door.

 

“Was that Siwon”, Yunho’s voice surprised Changmin. He had just come out of Jimin’s room.

 

“Yeah”, scoffed Changmin.

 

“Did he come to meet Jiminnie”, asked Yunho perplexed.

 

“Sort of. Mostly he wanted to apologize to me”, said Changmin looking at the bouquet. Changmin just couldn't stand it at all. He could never forgive Siwon. Siwon was only apologizing because things didn’t go his way. Had they gone his way, he would have made Changmin’s life a hell without any regrets. It was disturbing that he equated that to love.

 

“Could you give this bouquet away or something? The smell is making me nauseous”, Changmin said to Yunho before he marched into their bedroom.

 

* * *

 

Three years later...

 

Changmin and Yunho were in their wolf form chasing around their daughter who was recently able to transform. She liked her wolf form too much because she could run on all fours. She would just transform every chance she got and sometimes refuse to change back because she would be having too much fun. Yunho’s mother had warned them about it.

Thankfully she quietly complied when Changmin used a firm voice with her. Yunho was too soft to say anything to her.

 

Today they were out in the forest, playing around with her. Jimin was having a blast running around, playing tag with them.

 

When Jimin tried to climb a tree, Changmin immediately used his mouth to catch her by her neck and carried her away from that and placed her back to where her toys were.

 

_Changmin: “Wah, she can really run fast for her size”_

_Yunho: “I know, right ? She is probably more energetic than me”_

_Changmin: “That’s quite a feat in itself”_

 

They looked on as Jimin started running circles around them.

 

_Changmin: “Next one’s going to be calm”_

_Yunho: “Next one ?”_

 

Yunho was very surprised by that statement. Changmin had made no secret of the fact that he believed that fatherhood just wasn’t for him. Over the years, he had trusted Yunho enough to have a kid. They had planned it out so that Changmin would conceive outside of Yunho’s rut and Changmin’s heat. Because they knew that they were too compatible and they would end up with a large litter of their own if they did that and they had wanted to ease themselves into parenthood.

 

Changmin was a wonderful parent. He was hitting the books, forums and even asking their parents to make sure he knew everything when Jimin finally arrived. He was so good at anticipating all of Jimin’s needs and even great at disciplining her when required. Yunho was in awe of how smoothly Changmin had slipped into the role of a father even though he had been insecure about it.

 

_Changmin: “Jiminnie needs a sibling. She gets lonely when both of us are working”_

 

It was true. Jimin was a Daddy’s girl through and through. She would keep looking at the door as soon as the clock hit five and would keep asking every few minutes when Daddy would come back from the office. It was heart-touching but sometimes it was heartbreaking when Yunho would be late and Jimin’s mood would just come down. She never threw a tantrum over it nor did she cry. But she would just go quiet and then sit down and watch television. Usually, Changmin would be at home so she would come out of her funk real soon.

 

But on the days both Yunho and him would be out and they would have to leave her with either his parents or Yunho’s parents for babysitting, Changmin felt terrible when he said goodbye to her seeing her drooping shoulders and her sad eyes. Both their parents had told Changmin and Yunho how Jimin would go quiet all day and would only cheer up when they showed them pictures of Yunho and him.

 

Changmin could feel it, she was lonely. She did have friends that she played with but she still seemed like she was alone. Changmin thought it was the perfect time to plan another baby. he had been an only child and he was fine because he was an introvert. But Jimin was the opposite so being an only child was hard on her even though she never complained about it.

 

Changmin had been insecure about being a parent. But once he had Jimin, he was so busy with her that he didn’t have time to brood over his insecurities. Before he knew the little baby in his hand was growing into a kind and sensitive child.

 

_Yunho: “You sure you are ready for it”_

 

Changmin nodded at Yunho confidently.

 

_Changmin: “This time I get to name the kid”_

 

And Yunho had to concede this time.

 

* * *

 

Of all the things, Yunho had never expected to attend Heechul’s wedding. Heechul had been so staunchly against love or marriage and had stuck to it for the longest time, Yunho had figured that he would just stay like that.

 

But today he was here attending Heechul and Leeteuk’s wedding.

 

“I really believed that you would never marry”, confessed Donghae honestly.

 

“Yeah, hell has finally frozen over”, scoffed Heechul.

 

“Love can change people”, said Yunho.

 

“Or an unplanned pregnancy”, corrected  Heechul.

 

Well, that part was true but Yunho chose to ignore it. Heechul and Leeteuk had gotten into an exclusive physical relationship and then denied their feelings for each other for 5 years. Until they had a happy accident and Heechul got pregnant and they wasted no time in cutting the crap and confessing their true feelings to each other. Heechul had wanted to get married before the baby came out so here they were.

 

“Samcheon”, Jimin’s cute voice made three of them turn towards her.

 

“Aigoo, our Duchess Jimin-ah”, said Heechul as he went down on his knees to talk to Jimin. He was extremely fond of her.

 

“You look so pretty”, said Jimin to him.

 

“Ahhh... but not more than you”, said Heechul kissing Jimin on her forehead.

 

“Haha”, said Jimin embarrassed as she hid behind Yunho’s legs.

 

“Tell me, do I look prettier than your Papa”, asked Heechul with a smirk.

 

“Papa and Daddy are the prettiest”, claimed Jimin.

 

“Wah, Changmin’s got a loyal bunch”, remarked Heechul. Yunho was proud of her.

 

“Jimin-ah”, Changmin called out to.

 

“Papa”, responded Jimin and ran off to Changmin.

 

“Slow down, Jimin-ah”, warned Changmin because like Yunho, Jimin was very clumsy and ran without looking anywhere.

 

“I swear she’s starting to look more and more like Changmin”, said Heechul getting up.

 

“They have the same eyes”, said Yunho eyes still on a six-month along pregnant Changmin and very excited Jimin.

 

“Yeah, they go mismatched when she smiles too”, added Donghae.

 

“You have probably crossed the limits of sappiness by now. Can’t imagine how you are going to be when the next one arrives”, scoffed Heechul.

 

“In three more months”, said Yunho, unable to hide his smile.

 

“Ok, focus here. What about my wedding gift”, asked Heechul getting to the point directly.

 

“Oh shoot”, exclaimed Donghae.

 

“You forgot yours”, accused Heechul.

 

“No, I left it in the car”, defended Donghae before he hurriedly walked out.

 

“He forgot”, remarked Heechul watching Donghae leave.

 

“I know”, said Yunho. Donghae could be forgetful. Yunho shook his head and turned to Heechul. He handed Heechul the gift-wrapped book he was holding in his hand.

 

“Here”, said Yunho. Yunho didn’t know what else to say gifting erotica to anyone was weird but that’s what Heechul had demanded as his wedding gift so there was nothing he could do about that.

 

“Is it the first print”, asked Heechul, glee evident in his face.

 

“Yes, but it hasn’t been made available for sale by now. So, you know the rules”, warned Yunho.

 

It was the first print of the latest of Chami-sensei’s erotica. Changmin had gotten the first print for Heechul as that was what Heechul had demanded.

 

“Yeah, yeah. No leaking, no bragging etc etc”, waved off Heechul.

 

Yunho panicked as Heechul started opening up the wrapping paper. That wasn’t appropriate at all.

 

“You are not going to read it now, are you ?”, asked Yunho incredulously.

 

“Greeting boring people at my wedding reception or reading porn. Not really a hard choice to make”, replied Heechul with a scoff as he walked away from Yunho too engrossed in the book.

 

Yunho shook his head and turned towards his family. His heart swelled with happiness when he saw Jimin putting her ear on Changmin’s baby bump hoping to hear her baby brother.

 

* * *

 

After a long labour, Jung Minho came into this world. Yunho cried once again. Now, their newborn was safely in Changmin’s hands.

 

“Minho-ya”, said Changmin softly. Their newborn stirred in response.

 

“Thank you coming into our lives”, said Changmin and pressed a kiss on the newborn’s forehead

 

“Papa”, Changmin smiled as he heard his daughter’s voice. He hadn’t seen her since yesterday evening when he went into labour and had to be rushed to hospital. Jimin had looked so worried when Changmin had bid her goodbye.

 

“Jimin-ah”, called out Changmin. Yunho helped Jimin climb up on the bed.

 

Jimin hugged Changmin and said, “I missed you”

 

“But you saw me yesterday”, said Changmin.

 

“I still missed you”, said Jimin kissing Changmin on his cheek. The words were oddly reminiscent of how Yunho usually talked. Jimin was literally growing up to be a mini-Yunho but with Changmin’s face and features.

 

Yunho moved to sit on the other side of Changmin. He gestured Changmin to give Minho to him so Changmin could hold Jimin.

 

Yunho cooed at their youngest as he took him from Changmin.

 

“Minho came out”, asked Jimin looking at the newborn.

 

“Yeah your Papa’s stomach is empty again”, replied Yunho cheekily.

 

“Will more come out of there”, asked Jimin looking at Changmin with her ‘bambi’ eyes.

 

“Not for sometime now”, replied Changmin caressing her head.

 

Yunho lowered Minho close to Jimin.

 

“He is so small”, said Jimin in awe.

 

“Minho-ya, this is your noona. Jiminnie-noona”, said Yunho. Minho just yawned in response.

 

“He just yawned”, said Jimin laughing.

 

“Do you want to read him the book you got”, asked Yunho.

 

“What”, asked Changmin surprised. He knew Yunho and Jimin were preparing something together for him but they wouldn’t let him on in the secret.

Jimin nodded and excitedly pulled out a book from her bag-pack. Changmin eyes widened as he saw that it was ‘The Moonchild’, the first series that was published.

 

Jimin opened up the first page and read to Minho, “In a faraway land, there were two kinds of people. Children of the Sun and those of the Moon”

 

Changmin was so touched. When he first wrote the book he never imagined that his own child would be reading this. His plans never included kids or marriage but that had all changed. His life now was not even close to how he had imagined it to be. And he was happier than he ever could be, he wouldn’t change a single thing about it.

 

As for Yunho, sometimes he wanted to pinch himself because he couldn’t believe how perfect his life was. How did he get so lucky ? He thanked all the powers that be that made him send out a proposal to Changmin so many years ago.

 

“Daddy, you are not listening”, Jimin’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

 

“Sorry”, apologized Yunho.

 

“Now she has started nagging, too”, teased Changmin.

 

And Yunho would very happily accept any nagging from both of them for the rest of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember when this fic was just a 20k mesh of scenes in my drive before I decided to post it thinking that it might push me to complete the fic at some point. But the response I got here just made me so fired up that the word count kept increasing, I very happily kept putting effort into it and picked up some cool writing tricks along the way. I would like to thank everyone who has been dropping in a kind word for this fic, even hitting the kudos and recommending it to others! It is more than I could have ever expected. I had a blast writing this fic and reading all the comments. I was even able to change some points in the basic plot according to the comments I read here. So, thank you so much! I hope this fic is something you can comeback and read and still find it enjoyable.
> 
> To the people who are finding this fic after it has been completed, 'Whew, that was a lot of words you just read through, hope you enjoyed it'. I would definitely like to comeback and write some more HoMin fics, they might not be the size of this but I do want to write more for this pair. Thank you, everyone <3


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